Steelers take Shazier and other thoughts

Looking at Ohio State linebacker Ryan Shazier during the run-up to the NFL Draft,  I thought he was a clone of Steelers inside linebacker Lawrence Timmons - only faster.

The Steelers apparently saw the same thing.

They made Shazier their somewhat surprising first-round pick Thursday in the draft, passing on cornerback Darqueze Dennard.

That move was sure to make Steelers fans angry, since most had settled on a corner or wide receiver being the pick. After all, those were viewed as the team's two biggest needs along with defensive line.

But really, the Shazier pick makes some sense.

The biggest need the Steelers had coming into this offseason was improving their team speed on defense. They did so at free safety, replacing Ryan Clark with Mike Mitchell.

Thursday, they got a lot faster at inside linebacker as Shazier teamed with Timmons gives them a pair of hit-and-run linebackers.

Shazier's addition also will get Troy Polamalu back out of the box, where he spent a lot of time in 2013 because the Steelers didn't have a linebacker other than Timmons who could cover, and allow him to play off the line of scrimmage, where his playmaking ball skills will be more evident.

And with cornerback and wide receiver being two of the deepest positions in this draft, the team will have the option of addressing their needs there in later rounds.

But linebackers who were productive in college and can run a sub-4.4 40-yard dash, they don't come around too often.

@ Shazier's hamstring issues in the offseason were a concern for me when I looked at him in the draft process. But they weren't as big an issue to me as the numerous injury issues Alabama inside linebacker C.J. Mosley had.

Mosley might have been more of a sure thing at inside linebacker - and Baltimore picked him a couple selections after the Steelers took Shazier - but his injury history is downright scary.

Here's what I wrote in my pre-draft column for Thursday's Observer-Reporter, where I had the Steelers taking cornerback Kyle Fuller: "If Dennard is gone, the Steelers will look at corners Justin Gilbert and Fuller or inside linebackers C.J. Mosley of Alabama and Ryan Shazier of Ohio State.

Mosley would be a nice addition to play next to Lawrence Timmons, but had numerous injury problems at Alabama, while Shazier is a speedy run-and-tackle linebacker in the same mold as Timmons."

@ There are still some very good corners and wide receivers on the board heading into Friday's second and third rounds.

At cornerback, I like Rice's Philip Gaines or Nebraska's Stanley Jean-Baptiste in the second round as a possible Steelers' pick, or Lindenwood's Pierre Desir, Jaylen Watkins of Florida or Bashaud Breeland of Clemson in the third round.

At receiver, there are a bevy of guys still available, some who can probably come in and help right away.

I expect Marqise Lee and Jordan Matthews to go early in the second round, but Donte Moncrief of Ole Miss, Penn State's Allen Robinson Cody Latimer or Davante Adams of Fresno State would be solid picks in the second round. In the third, I'd look for Clemson's Martavius Bryant, Jarvis Landry of LSU, or Kevin Norwood of Alabama.