When the Steelers selected Justin Layne in third round in the 2019 draft, nobody batted an eye. In fact, it was seen as a good value pick for a player who some draft analysts had sneaking into the late first round on some of their mock drafts. He was that highly regarded.
Two years later, Layne has appeared in 26 NFL games, but has yet to make his first career start.
Here's guessing that comes in 2021. With the Steelers' release of Steven Nelson last week and the loss of Mike Hilton in free agency, the team has lost two of its top three corners from 2020. But Cam Sutton was re-signed to help ease that loss. He'll play outside opposite Joe Haden in the base 3-4 defense -- which the team uses 35 to 30 percent of the time. The other 70 or so percent of the time when the Steelers are in a nickel or dime, they'll need a third corner on the field.
And that corner will likely be Layne.
Layne saw an increase in playing time in 2020 from his rookie season when he failed to play a defensive snap, to playing 117 defensive snaps last season. For most of the season, when Nelson or Haden were out, Layne would play on the outside when the Steelers went to their sub packages, with Sutton moving inside to the slot if Hilton was unavailable. The only exception was late in the season prior to the regular season finale when Haden was placed on the COVID-19 List the day before the Steelers played the Browns in Cleveland.
In that game, rookie James Pierre, who was undrafted but earned a roster spot all season, split time with Layne on the outside, with Pierre getting 18 snaps and Layne 16. The following week, Pierre played eight defensive snaps to none for Layne. That led some to the feeling Pierre had passed Layne on the depth chart, but that's most certainly not the case. Pierre looks like a nice find. He's a nice-sized cornerback at 6-2, 185 pounds. But he's not nearly as athletic as Layne.
Layne was selected as a project. He had only played cornerback 2 1/2 years at Michigan State, converting midway through his freshman season from wide receiver. His rookie season, in which he played exclusively on special teams, was a wash -- a year on scholarship. Last season, he saw his first NFL action on defense, after not having a preseason at all thanks to COVID-19.
The Steelers didn't release Nelson on a whim. They did so with the thought that Layne is ready.
Yes, he allowed 10 completions on 12 passes thrown his way last season, but for just 128 yards. Considering all of his snaps came on passing downs, that's not bad for a player who was essentially a rookie in 2020. Young corners have targets on their back. But Layne should be much better in 2021. With a full preseason this year, he should be ready to step into the lineup in the nickel and dime defenses when Sutton moves inside to the slot.
If the Steelers didn't think that was the case, they wouldn't have released Nelson.
YOUR TURN: Is Layne ready to play more in 2021?