The Pittsburgh Steelers had thought that they had found their succession story at safety in the 2013 NFL Draft. So, too, had the Baltimore Ravens, with both organizations making bold moves in an effort to attempt to ease their organization’s inevitable transition from a Hall of Fame player on the back end.
In the case of the Steelers, that was strong safety Troy Polamalu, who retired following the 2014 season. Pittsburgh traded away a 2014 third-round draft pick in order to acquire a fourth-round draft pick to be granted the opportunity to select safety Shamarko Thomas, a player whom they coveted as being of much higher quality than his draft stock.