Scouting Report: New Seattle Seahawk Jordan Hill

November 24, 2012; University Park, PA, USA; Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Curt Phillips (10) is hit by Penn State Nittany Lions defensive tackle Jordan Hill (47) at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Coming into the draft, the one position that the Seahawks absolutely had to address was defensive tackle. In the 3rd round, the Seattle Seahawks picked DT Jordan Hill out of Penn State. So what exactly did they get?

Simply, they got an interior pass rusher, and a very good one.

Hill has an explosive first step, great lateral agility, and a very high motor. He’s a guy who can, and will get to the QB. After the pick, I saw this on twitter from one of the draft scouts I trust: 

"Best hand usage of all interior DL in this draft. – Eric Stoner, NFL Draft Breakdown"

For those of you who don’t speak “draft,” let me explain what that means. It means that he’s very difficult to block. Hill uses his own hands to make it so that the linemen cannot get their hands on him. Essentially, he prevents blockers from being able to use their upper body strength when blocking him. That’s a big deal.

While all of that makes him effective against the pass, it doesn’t help him against the run. Hill lacks the strength to anchor and hold his spot, and thus gets driven backwards quite often. It’s a serious concern, and will prevent him from being a full time player.

Ultimately, what the Seahawks acquired here is a rotational player who’ll be a part of the team’s sub packages as an inside pass rusher. I expect we’ll see him play about half the defensive snaps, but the team still needs an inside run stopper who can be the starter.

Here’s some game tape of Hill vs Wisconsin from NFLDraftBreakdown. Later in the game when the Badgers have to pass, Hill completely takes over.