2012 Mid-Season Forum Mock Media Thread

[Hines]

PITTSBURGH STEELERS GM HINES DISCUSSES 2013 NFL DRAFT CLASS


On first pick Jackson Jeffocat:

Quick, aggressive pass rusher. Was the number 2 player on our board. Excited to have Jackson join our defense. Believe he is a difference maker.


On second pick Shawn Williams:

Physical safety who can also play over the top. We like his body of work. Can play FS, but we are starting him at SS. We believe he's a Pro Bowl type talent and are excited to have him learn from Ryan Clark and Troy Polamalu.

On third pick Montee Ball:

Was a Heisman finalist for a reason. We believe he has everything you want in a starting RB. We still have great backs like Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman, but as a whole, our running game needs improved. Ball brings that type of talent to our backfield and we are excited to have him.


On fourth pick Bruce Taylor:

We've like Bruce for quite some time now, dating back to when we were watching Jason Worilds. What stands out to us is that he's the total package. He can play the run, rush the passer, and fall back in coverage. With the possibility of losing Larry Foote and the uncertainty of Sean Spence's injury, we felt the need to improve our depth.


Overall draft thoughts:

Overall I feel we hit our biggest needs in this draft. We needed to get younger and better on the defensive side of the football and felt that Jackson, Shawn, and Bruce all do that. With a talent like Montee sitting there in the third, we had to take him. Overall we feel we became a lot better football team in this draft.