Ryan Shazier and C.J. Mosley were the two best inside linebackers available in the NFL draft in May. The Steelers and Ravens, two franchises known for their linebacker play, recognized their abilities and snatched them up in the first round.
The Steelers took Shazier with the No. 15 overall selection and the Ravens grabbed Mosley two picks later at No. 17. When it comes to measuring their rookie seasons, it was as close as they were all year.
Mosley made the Pro Bowl and is in contention for NFL defensive rookie of the year honors. Shazier has battled two nagging injuries and has yet to regain his starting job, though he appears close to returning to his early season form.
“I talk to C.J. sometimes,” Shazier said. “I congratulated him on making the Pro Bowl. But this week, we’re rivals.”
Shazier doesn’t compare himself with Mosley, but plenty of fans do because of their draft position. Mosley, a star at Alabama, started every game for the Ravens and made 133 tackles, the most by a rookie this season. He is the only NFL player to record 115 tackles, 3 sacks and intercept 2 passes.
“His humility and work ethic are really high,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh told the Baltimore Sun earlier this month. “He’s not a guy that takes anything for granted, and that’s a great quality in anybody.”
Shazier, out of Ohio State, has started five games, but his rookie season was marred by injuries. An early season knee injury forced him to miss four games. He came back in the middle of the season and started against the Indianapolis Colts and Ravens, but he got a high ankle sprain against the Ravens that forced him to miss the next four games. He played in the final three regular-season games as a reserve, sharing time with Sean Spence and Vince Williams alongside longtime starter Lawrence Timmons.
“It’s kind of rough going up and down,” Shazier said. “At the beginning of the year things were going good. But honestly, it’s actually one of the happiest moments for me right now because we’re winning. I can’t be mad. If we’re winning, I’m happy no matter who’s playing and how we rotate. If we’re winning, it doesn’t matter. We’re all brothers. We just continue to do what we’re doing, and I feel like we’ll all do a great job.”
Shazier played 38 snaps Sunday night against the Cincinnati Bengals, his most in a game since a loss at Baltimore in the second week of the season. The Bengals were targeting Vince Williams, slowed by an ankle injury, in the passing game, and Shazier was inserted in passing situations.
“I thought he played well,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “The arrow is pointing up with him. I thought he’s done a nice job getting back on a moving train. We’ve talked about it in recent weeks. Health doesn’t always dictate participation, particularly as guys define roles and guys ascend and make plays. [Spence and Williams] did a nice job of ascending when he was out. They did a nice job of making it difficult for him to work back into the fold. The consequence of that is we feel comfortable playing with any of those guys.”
Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau is the man who must juggle the playing time of his young trio of linebackers. The plan in May was for Shazier and Timmons to be on the field for most snaps, but now playing time varies for each from week to week.
Spence plays mostly in the base defense and Shazier and Williams share time when the nickel package is called.
“I think it’s a good situation for us to have enough people to go in there,” LeBeau said. “We can keep more people fresh. Therefore, we’ll have more energy and you’re going to be a better football player under those circumstances. Sometimes, you don’t have the luxury to do that, but these guys are getting healthy at the right time. It’s helped us down the stretch.”
Ray Fittipaldo: rfittipaldo@post-gazette.com and Twitter @rayfitt1.
First Published: January 2, 2015, 5:00 a.m.
