Even for a player as naturally gifted as linebacker Ryan Shazier, the NFL is the ultimate equalizer. It’s a league full of the best of the best, the top 0.1 percent. Shazier’s “welcome to the NFL” moment came against one of those all-time greats.
“My welcome to the NFL moment is when I played against Joe Thomas in my first game of the year,” Shazier told Arthur Moats in a one-on-one interview. “They were running an outside zone play. We play a lot of good players in college. Especially in the Big Ten, you have a lot of good linemen.