Each 1st round selection I would have made for Steelers since 2013
By Tommy Jaggi
2014
Steelers pick: Ryan Shazier
My pick: C.J. Mosley
I’ll have to admit, Kevin Colbert absolutely knew what he was doing when he drafted Ryan Shazier with the 15th overall pick in 2014. Despite what the statistics say, I think Colbert bested me on this one.
However, there really was no wrong choice here. Yes, Shazier did suffer a spinal cord injury that may have ended his career at the age of 25, but injuries like that aren’t predictable. Shazier’s reckless and energetic play-style forced opposing offenses to stay accountable for him, and he was great at forcing turnovers.
Shazier had one of the best games I had ever seen from the position against the Bengals in the playoffs in January of 2016.
At the same time, C.J. Mosley is no slouch. Though he isn’t the dynamic athlete Shazier is, Mosley wins with physicality and effortless paths to the football. His instincts are excellent, and he always seems to be around the football.
Mosley is a 4-time Pro Bowl player who has misses just 3 games in his first 5 NFL seasons with the Ravens. Both Shazier and Mosley were excellent, Pro Bowl football players who were well deserving of their draft selections in 2014.