In third round, what else? Wide receiver, corner

After sitting out the second round early Friday evening, the Steelers finally made their first pick of the second day of the NFL Draft, using the first of two selections they acquired from the Raiders for Antonio Brown.

Perhaps not ironically, they acquired a player with the 66th pick who draws a lot of comparisons to Brown, Toledo receiver Diontae Johnson. The team then selected Michigan State's Justin Layne, a big receiver turned cornerback, with their second third-round pick, which was 83rd overall.

The moves came after the Steelers watched a number of defensive backs and receivers get taken in the second round, where they had traded their pick -- along with the 20th selection and next year's third-rounder -- to move up Thursday night and take Michigan's Devin Bush. The Steelers traded with Denver to move up to No. 10 to take the speedy linebacker.

Johnson, 5-foot-10, 183 pounds, has many of the same traits that attracted the Steelers to Brown in 2010. He's an excellent return man. He can work inside or outside. And he had some of the best short-quickness and route-running skills of receivers available in this draft.

"Not only is he a tremendous football player, but a tremendous young man," receivers coach Darryl Drake said of Johnson. "After spending time ... dining with him and talking to him, I fell in love with his passion for the game, his passion for wanting to be great and his passion for his teammates. He did many jobs at Toledo, not only as a receiver, but as a return man. He's the most natural catcher that I've seen in a while. He's very gifted in terms of catching the football."

Johnson caught 135 passes for 2,235 yards and 23 touchdowns in just three seasons at Toledo, which plays in the MAC, the same conference that produced Brown, a Central Michigan product.

Johnson, whose comparison by NFL.com draft analyst Lance Zierlein was to another former Steelers receiver, Emmanuel Sanders, has excellent return numbers, averaging 18.5 yards on punts and 25.8 yards on kickoffs in 2018.

But Johnson ran just a 4.53 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis earlier this year. The Steelers, however, aren't concerned with that. After all, that is right around where Brown ran when they plucked him out of the sixth round in 2010.

"When you watch the tape and how dynamic he is with the ball in his hands, his change of direction and things that he has, he's an exciting football player," Drake said. "He can stop and start and make people miss in open space. That was really one of the most intriguing things about it. But his personality and want-to was outstanding. I've been doing this for 40 years. He was one of the best interviews of guys that I've been around in a long time."

His speed didn't seem to be a factor on this play:

The Steelers did seem to be very cognizant of Johnson's personality. Drake mentioned Johnson's character several times.

That would be one area where Johnson would seem to differ from Brown, who wore out his welcome in Pittsburgh with a me-first attitude that eventually made the Steelers walk away from a player who set an NFL record last season with his fifth-consecutive 100-catch season. Brown was traded to the Raiders for picks in the third and fifth rounds.

Johnson is aware of the comparisons. And he's aware of what happened with Brown in Pittsburgh.

"He's a great receiver, probably one of the guys I look up to in the league," Johnson said. "But I can only be me and do what I can do best."

And that is?

"Winning at the line of scrimmage, and catching the ball in traffic and running the route tree," Johnson said.

In Layne, the Steelers get a corner who is considered raw after moving from receiver midway through his freshman season.

He wound up starting five of the team's final seven games at corner that season despite the late move, then became a full-time starter as a sophomore.

Layne (6-foot-2, 192 pounds) really came into his own in 2018, breaking up 15 passes and intercepting one. A Cleveland native, Layne tweeted a few weeks ago that he'd like is hometown team to draft him.

That tune changed Friday night.

"We've already got the Steelers stuff up," said Layne a graduate of Benedictine High School, the same high school that produced Chuck Noll. "I told my dad to take that Browns stuff down."

The Steelers view Layne as an outside cornerback.

"I really liked him and his potential when I saw him," said assistant defensive and secondary coach Teryl Austin. "He's got a good body, long, with good ball skills. He's very competitive. That's one thing that stands out when you watch him. He's not afraid to get up in there. He'll tackle. He'll compete at the point of attack for the ball. He's got a lot of good things to work with."

DALE'S VIEW

I like Johnson a lot. This might have been a little early for him, but it's hard to argue with the Steelers' track record drafting receivers. He's a dynamic playmaker and one of those guys who plays faster than his 40-time. I would have preferred a player such as Deebo Samuel, Parris Campbell or A.J. Brown, but those guys all went in the second round.

Johnson isn't going to add size to the Steelers' receivers room, but it does make things interesting. It now sets up with JuJu Smith-Schuster, Donte Moncrief, James Washington, Ryan Switzer and Eli Rogers to go along with Johnson.

Switzer, Rogers and Johnson are all return guys. Do the Steelers add another big receiver later, making this a battle for a roster spot between Switzer and Rogers?

Layne is interesting in that he's an outside corner. I felt the Steelers could go after a player capable of playing the slot, but that's not Layne.

That could mean a battle between Mike Hilton and Cameron Sutton in the slot. The Steelers would like for Sutton, a 2017 third-round draft pick, to win that job. They feel Hilton was being picked on late in the 2018 season and his size limitations aren't going away.

Layne's addition could spell the end for Artie Burns. With the addition of Steven Nelson in the offseason, the corners now look like this: Nelson, Joe Haden, Layne and Sutton have jobs all but locked up. Hilton likely does, as well. That could mean Burns would be stuck in a battle with 2017 fifth-round draft pick Brian Allen for a spot on the roster if the team keeps more than five.

The Steelers still have six picks remaining in this draft, which concludes Saturday, and it wouldn't be surprising to see them add another cornerback who is capable of playing inside.

But the other position targets include tight end, running back and outside linebacker.

MATT SUNDAY GALLERY