3 players trending down early at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp

CB Justin Layne

Since the 2019 NFL Draft, I have been holding out hope that Justin Layne would finally string things together. The raw cornerback was quite impressive at Michigan State and has a terrific combination of length and athleticism to be an outside cornerback.

Unfortunately, Layne seems to only disappoint. When his name is mentioned during practice, it’s rarely for something good. Early in training camp, Layne has struggled to stick with Pittsburgh’s young receivers. Diontae Johnson made him look silly on a few comeback routes and Chase Claypool broke his press easily to win down the field during one-on-ones.

While these are some quality receivers he is going up against, a good cornerback needs to be able to stick tighter in coverage and occasionally make some plays on the ball. So far, he hasn’t done either. Though this isn’t to say that the 23-year-old cornerback can’t turn things around in his third training camp, we have seen no such sign of doing so thus far.

Meanwhile, James Pierre continues to be one of the more impressive young players on the team, and it’s looking like second-year defensive back Antoine Brooks may already get the first crack at getting on the field in nickel coverage. If Layne doesn’t turn things around fast, he’s going to be watching from the sidelines like Artie Burns did over the final two seasons of his rookie deal.