The Steelers double-dipped at cornerback by signing Steven Nelson in free agency and drafting Justin Layne from Michigan State with their second pick in the third round, the 83rd overall pick in the draft.
Layne was among the better cornerback prospects projected to be drafted on Day 2, though some draft analysts, including Mel Kiper, gave him a first-round grade. However, when Deandre Baker was the only cornerback drafted in the first round and six others were taken in the second round, Layne's value was in question until the Steelers made him the 10th cornerback selected.
Nelson and Joe Haden are the going to start, so Layne doesn't have the pressure of having to produce immediately. But his college tape shows promise and the Steelers are excited about his potential. The Steelers aren't alone. ESPN's Todd McShay rated Layne as his favorite of the Steelers' nine picks, Devin Bush included, and NFL.com's Lance Zierlein selected Layne as one of his three favorite picks of the third round.
Layne shares similarities to Brian Allen, the Steelers' fifth-round pick out of Utah in 2017, in that both are former receivers who converted to cornerbacks and have the prototypical 6-foot-3 height to line up outside the numbers.
But Layne's upside is greater than Allen's. His ball skills are better — though Allen did have five interceptions in two seasons compared to Layne's two in two seasons, Layne's 23 passes defended showed a cornerback adept at adjusting to the ball.
Layne does this through technical and physical press coverage while remaining engaged with his man, putting himself in good positions to play the ball when targeted. Watch how he works to the receiver's hip to create a tight passing window for Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins. When the ball arrives, Layne swats it away easily:
Layne is at his best when he keeps the play in front of him. He excelled at breaking up passes in red zone situations where receivers had limited space to run and he could outmaneuver them to win the position battle. But what dropped his draft stock were his problems covering the deep ball.
He ranked No. 16 in his cornerback class with a time of 4.50 40-yard dash and couldn't balance his lack of elite speed with consistent footwork and positioning to defend deep balls like Byron Murphy, who was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals with first pick of the second-round.
Watch the bottom of your screen as Layne's slightest hesitation creates the separation needed for J.T. Barrett to hit his man for a deep strike back in 2017:
That happened often enough for Layne to hurt his draft stock, but his ability to play the ball, particularly in tough situations, made him an intriguing target. Watch this one-handed interception of Barrett from the same game, where Layne properly pins his man to the sideline and boxes him out so he can make the interception where receiver Binjimen Victor was supposed to be:
Layne has the patience and natural ability to find and attack the ball that the Steelers haven't had at cornerback — except Haden — in recent years. That's because Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin have gone for speedy or physical tackling cornerbacks with the hope of coaching the ball skills into a player.
That hasn't worked, as seen with Artie Burns, Doran Grant, Curtis Brown and Cortez Allen over the past decade. So prioritizing players who specialize at finding the ball and breaking up pass plays could be Colbert's effort to make the secondary a strength in the coming years.
Layne also was never shy from taking on big time receivers in huge moments. Here he is lined up for a red zone pass to the Patriots' first round pick, N'Keal Harry of Arizona State. Watch how Harry fakes an inside route, trying to set up having the front corner of the end zone.
Layne chops his feet in order to challenge Harry if he commits to the inside, but stays home enough that he can turn his hips and blanket Harry when the ball arrives, ensuring a swatted ball:
That's a good play against the second receiver selected in this draft. But that game also showed where Layne still has to develop his ball skills to an advanced level. Harry finished the game with six catches for 89 yards and a touchdown.
That touchdown came against Layne on a crucial reception that tied the game in the fourth quarter. Watch how Layne is able to turn and run with Harry on his route, keeping himself between the quarterback and his receiver to force a perfect throw.
The problem was Harry outplayed Layne for the ball even with what looked like a push-off. When the play extended deeper into the secondary, Layne wasn't able to keep everything in front of him and allowed the big score:
That was a teachable moment and Layne showed he could improve as the season continued. Learning when and how to attack receivers while avoiding or fighting through push-offs is an elite skill that comes with experience. The fact that Layne was able to run with Harry and challenge him to make such a play shows why he's a natural fit at cornerback.
As Layne encounters his first challenges in the NFL, watch for how he responds to both successes and failures in coverage. If he can improve the more intricate parts of cornerback play that require highly detailed work, he has the rest of the package to be a productive cornerback who breaks up a lot of passes.
