6 Steelers veterans on the roster bubble ahead of 2021 camp

Justin Layne

Justin Layne seems like the prototypical Steelers cornerback draft selection, and unfortunately, that isn’t a good thing. He had a great frame and solid athleticism coming out of Michigan St., but he was raw in coverage as he was a converted receiver. He needed a lot of coaching up and development in the pros, and unfortunately, he went to a team renowned for not being able to develop corners.

To this point, it appears as though he will likely continue down the path of disappointing cornerbacks drafted by Kevin Colbert. All of this despite there being a wide-open starting cornerback role open with Steven Nelson being cut. Unfortunately, it seems like Layne was already jumped on the depth chart by then undrafted rookie Pierre. On top of this, the team added a similar lengthy player in Stephen Denmark as a futures player and the talented albeit injured undrafted player in Mark Gilbert.

Now, Layne should, on paper, be ahead of any of these options given his solid special teams value and draft investment. The issue now is that he was arrested earlier this offseason for some traffic and firearms violations. For a player that has struggled so far, this was the last thing he needed. Unless he really shows out and steps up to replace Nelson, the Steelers may move on from the disappointing third-round pick.