2012 NFL Mock Draft: Steelers Take Inside Linebacker In First Round

The Pittsburgh Steelers are going to have three major needs that they are going to have to fill in free agency and the draft (guard, nose tackle, inside linebacker) , and it would make sense that they look to address one of those needs with their first round pick, No. 24 overall, in the upcoming NFL Draft. The fellas over at Mocking The Draft put together a four-round Mock (also known as a fool's errand) that has them drafting inside linebacker Dont'a Hightower from Alabama in the first round.

The Steelers have 3 major needs and will probably look to fill them all in this draft since they have no cap room. The ILB class is weak outside the top 3 so they will probably take an ILB in round one and hope that a guard and a NT fall to them in rounds 2 and 3.

Hightower was one of the best players on a defense that ranked historically in college football. He could step in and start right away, or spend a year or two learning on the bench, then stepping in to form a pretty dangerous group of linebackers for the Steelers.

For more on the 2012 NFL Draft, head over to Mocking The Draft. For more on Steelers football, there's Behind The Steel Curtain.