I wasn’t the only one who was astonished that Justin Layne lasted all the way to pick 83. The Steelers apparently were thinking the same thing. Layne proved to be too good to pass, as Pittsburgh selected him with the 83rd overall pick this year – a pick that some regard as one of the best in the draft.
Prior to the draft, Mel Kiper slated Michigan State cornerback at pick 29 in his final mock draft.Here is what the nation’s most well-known NFL Draft analyst had to say about about Justin Layne:
"I was surprised Layne lasted this far into the draft. I put him at No. 29 in my final mock draft, and I thought he’d go in the top 40. I love this fit in Pittsburgh, where the team brought in free agent Steven Nelson, and former first-rounder Artie Burns took a step back last season. The Steelers intercepted only eight passes in 2018, and Layne, a converted wide receiver, had 19 pass breakups over the past two seasons. Every team needs cornerback depth in this pass-happy era of the NFL."
On my final big board, I had Justin Layne slotted as my 28th overall player and my 3rd overall cornerback. The value at landing a player like Justin Layne was fantastic in the middle of the 3rd round.
Layne is a long, athletic corner that shows incredible flashes on film. The Michigan State product just turned 21 years old in January, and has shown incredible progress for a young player who transitioned from wide receiver to defensive back just a few years ago.
Justin Layne is nowhere near a finished product yet, and it will be up to the Steelers coaching staff to fine tune his skills. To me, Layne is easily a better prospect coming out of college than Artie Burns or Senquez Golson, and I think Mel Kiper would agree.
The first cornerback drafted this year was Georgia’s Deandre Baker, who went 30th overall to the New York Giants. Ironically enough, I had Baker as my 32nd overall player and Layne as my 28th overall player.
Though Deandre Baker was better on film in college, Justin Layne is younger, bigger, and more athletic with impressive ball skills and ability to mirror in coverage. I don’t think anyone would have batted an eye if Justin Layne (not Deandre Baker) was the first cornerback selected in the NFL Draft.
With the way cornerbacks have worked out in Pittsburgh in my lifetime, it’s certainly possible that Justin Layne never reaches his ceiling and lives up to the hype of a player that was once talked about as a potential late first-rounder. However, one thing the Steelers didn’t do with the 83rd pick in the draft was reach.
The Justin Layne pick was fantastic value for the Steelers. It will be up to coaches Mike Tomlin, Keith Butler, Teryl Austin, and Tom Bradley to make sure that Justin Layne is not just another Steelers cornerback that falls by the wayside.