Mike Tomlin will be approaching his 13th NFL Draft as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers and during that time, the team has drafted an inside linebacker within the first three rounds just three times.
- Lawrence Timmons – First round, 2007
- Sean Spence – Third round, 2012
- Ryan Shazier – First round, 2014
Under Tomlin, the Steelers have shown to be very selective when dipping into the inside linebacking pool early and it has paid off. Timmons was in Pittsburgh for a decade, starting 126 games at inside linebacker before departing for Miami in 2017.