Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier opened eyes almost from the moment he donned an NFL practice uniform and hit a professionally tended field last offseason.
Shazier looked every part the fast, physical, athletic specimen Steelers GM Kevin Colbert clearly thought Shazier could be when he made him a first-round pick, No. 15-overall, in the 2014 NFL Draft, only a few short months prior.
Unfortunately for Shazier and the NFL's Pittsburgh-based franchise, as the season wore on, as did the physical nature of the NFL wear on Shazier.
Shazier, just 6-foot-1, 237-pounds, struggled to get off blocks and keep offensive linemen away from his body, meaning all his speed and athleticism was wasted as he was swallowed up by the larger men around him. Shazier also dealt with several injuries and wound up managing just 36 tackles and one pass defensed in nine 2014 regular season games.
While players like Sean Spence and Vince Williams saw increased snaps in place of Shazier last year, the former first-rounder still possesses an incredibly high ceiling and could be set for a big turnaround in Year Two.
"The Steelers' promising first-round pick often over-pursued and found himself out of position in 2014," writes Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports. "Those mistakes can't continue. Shazier also spent the offseason trying to address his bulk and strength - two areas that will have to improve to make his style of play sustainable. His ankle and knee problems undercut his progress last year. And that physical letdown allowed guys like Sean Spence and Vince Williams to steal opportunities. If he's healthy, he should start this year and obliterate his snap count from his rookie campaign."
Coming out of Ohio State, Shazier was seen as an undersized playmaker perfectly created for the new-look NFL.
"This kid has come a long way this year. When you watch him play, he is all about what today's linebackers are all about. He is one of the fastest linebackers to come out of college football," NFL Network senior draft analyst Mike Mayock said at the time of Shazier's selection, via NFL.com.
Shazier finished his last season in Columbus as the Big Ten's leading tackler and was thought to possess the agility and versatility to thrive in either a 4-3 or 3-4 base alignment.
While Shazier struggled with the increased physicality of the NFL in Year One, if he's added bulk to his lean frame this offseason - as he suggested he has, moving himself from about 226-pounds at the end of last season to around 233 or 234-pounds at the outset of Steelers OTAs - he very well could sew up what was once his starting spot next to Lawrence Timmons.
"This is a chance to wipe the slate clean and start off healthy and do everything I need to do to get back,'' Shazier said recently, via Dale Grdnic of BehindTheSteelCurtain.com. "Last year, it was kind of a disappointment. I felt I could have brought more to the team. (So), I'm definitely going to try to be a bigger part of the team this year.''
Fortunately for Shazier, considering his rookie year production was so limited, there's really no place for him to go but up. Assuming he can stay healthy and maintain his weight, he should have a significant impact on Keith Butler's unit and the entire Pittsburgh team in 2015.
