Pittsburgh Steelers to Watch in Training Camp: LB Ryan Shazier

The Pittsburgh Steelers had high rookie-year expectations for their 2014 Round 1 draft pick, linebacker Ryan Shazier. And at first, those expectations were being met. His strong summer at training camp and in the preseason was rewarded with Shazier being given a starting spot at inside linebacker alongside Lawrence Timmons.

He held that spot down for three starts before suffering a sprained MCL that held him off the field until Week 8. Then, in Week 9, he suffered an ankle sprain that sidelined him until Week 13. By then, his starting days were done; Shazier instead worked in a three-man timeshare with Vince Williams and Sean Spence.

This year, the expectations are just as high for Shazier as they were a year ago. NFL.com's Chris Wesseling named Shazier No. 18 on his list of players to make a leap in 2015, while ESPN's Jeremy Fowler named Shazier his pick for AFC North rising star.

Games	Starts	Solo T.	Comb. T.	TFL	PD
9	5	24	36	2.0	1

Wesseling wrote, "We fully expect Shazier to rack up more than 100 tackles and force a handful of turnovers if he stays out of the trainer's room this season. If he can reach those numbers without surrendering big plays to overpursuit, Pro Bowls will soon follow." Fowler echoed Wesseling's stat prediction, writing, "[Shazier] will rack up 100-plus tackles in Keith Butler's 3-4 defense because of his open-field tackling ability, especially in pass coverage."

It's Shazier's prowess in coverage, in particular, that has led the Steelers to switching his position with Timmons'. As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette points out, the two Steelers inside linebacker positions have differing responsibilities. The "Buck" is "the more stay-at-home tackler," while the "Mack" is more mobile and used more often in coverage.

The latter has been Timmons' spot for the majority of his Steelers career, but he's now being moved to Buck for the 2015 season, while Shazier will maximize his speed and coverage skills as the team's newly minted Mack. The switch doesn't bother Timmons, who said to Bouchette:

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"[Shazier's] good to go now, and I feel he's going to kill it. And I like it because I'm more of a crasher. I'm in the box taking on guards more, I get more tackles. It's a good thing. The mack, you're roaming more. Me being older or whatever and him having fresher legs, let the guy roam, that's what I say."

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And this isn't the first time Timmons has lavished praise on Shazier. He said to Bouchette's colleague Gerry Dulac during the 2014 preseason that, "His pass coverage is awesome. You saw the tackles; he was making tackles left and right. He has the pedigree. He has all the talent and the intangibles you want in an inside linebacker."

But Shazier will have to remain healthy to remain a starter. Williams and Spence are not going to quietly accept a backup role if they don't have to. According to Pro Football Focus, Spence played 510 snaps in place of Shazier last year, and Williams, 253, and the pair had a combined 97 tackles and one sack.

Williams, in particular, has already looked sharp in training camp, with Williams getting the better of running back DeAngelo Williams in the backs-on-backers drill on Wednesday and forcing No. 2 quarterback Tajh Boyd to fumble.

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@NealCoolong Boyd's second fumble, Vince Williams appeared to knock it free on a blitz

— Neal Coolong (@NealCoolong) July 29, 2015"

It will also be interesting to see how Shazier fares as an interior pass-rusher, given his speed and his ability to locate the football. He could be an important component to a Steelers pass rush that is looking to improve upon its 33 sacks from a year ago. But that aspect of Shazier's game has yet to be seen, given his small on-field sample size.

For two straight years, there has been a considerable amount of buzz surrounding what Shazier can provide the Steelers defense. Last year didn't quite go as planned. But a healthy Shazier should be an impact player in 2015. It will be interesting to see how the Steelers use him in training camp this year—this could provide hints of just how big a role he's set to play in the regular season.