NFL Mock Draft 2012: Another Mock Picks Dont'a Hightower For Steelers

Read More: Ryan Tannehill (QB - Texas A&M), Don'ta Hightower (LB - Alabama), Zach Brown (LB - North Carolina), Justin Blackmon (WR - Oklahoma St.), Devon Still (DT - Penn St.), Andrew Luck (QB - Stanford), Vontaze Burfict (LB - Arizona St.), Colorado St. Rams

A new NFL Mock Draft at Mocking The Draft has Justin Blackmon going to the Rams at No. 2 and Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill to the Redskins at No. 6. The rest of the early picks are fairly standard, with Andrew Luck of course going No. 1 overall. Penn State's Devon Still goes to the Seattle Seahawks at No. 12.

The 2012 draft is at a point now where analysts still have fairly different opinions of what's going to happen after the first dozen or so picks, which means the Steelers' pick at No. 24 is difficult to project, and not just because the Steelers tend to follow their own playbook when it comes to the draft. In this one, the Steelers take Alabama linebacker Dont'a Hightower.

James Farrior is old and in rapid decline and the Steelers need an infusion of young talent in their LB corps. Hightower plays with the hard-hitting, downhill style that Pittsburgh fans have grown accustomed to seeing from their LB's. He projects as a top run defender with some ability in the pass game and would be a great complement to the smaller, more athletic, Lawrence Timmons.

That sounds about right. Other linebackers to whom the Steelers have been connected include Arizona State's Vontaze Burfict and North Carolina's Zach Brown. They could also look for help on their offensive line.