Justin Layne, CB
School: Michigan State | Conference: BIG 10
College Experience: Junior | Age: 21
Height / Weight: 6-1 / 192 lbs
Projected Draft Status: 2nd Round
NFL Comparison: Desmond Trufant
College Statistics
Player Overview
Justin Layne was a 4-star prospect from Cleveland, Ohio. He was a WR in high school who got offers from Alabama, Michigan, Florida, and Ohio State among many other schools. Layne picked Michigan State over all these other schools because he felt MSU gave him the best chance to succeed and where he felt most comfortable. He really liked the tradition at MSU and felt there could be a true family dynamic with his teammates there. Layne switched from receiver to corner midway through his freshman season. The buzz behind Layne has been relatively quiet all draft season but he did have a break out year in terms of his stats and performance and with the presumed top two corners disappointing in athletic testing at the Combine the top-end corner buzz has picked up with a few ‘new’ names. Layne might be on the first round radar of some teams with his size, length, and how well he tested athletically at the Combine. What could be special about Layne is his ability to show up in big situations and in big games. He’s improved his technique and football IQ over the course of his career, something he credits the coaching staff at MSU with. The aggressive man coverage scheme MSU plays has put Layne in a position to make a lot of plays this past year. He’s close to prototypical at the position and should draw a lot of interest.
Strengths
- Excellent size and length with good speed and athletic traits.
- Extremely competitive corner who is annoying and sticky in man coverage. Fights and contests the catch point until the catch is made or until the ball hits the ground. High effort player who hates completions made on him. Uses his length and mirror technique to match route pattern and stay in position and break up passes.
- Willing tackler in run support .
- Uses press skills to disrupt receivers early. Comfortable with the ball in the air and rarely panics he’s good at turning his head locating the ball and making a play on it.
- Shows up in big plays and in big games.
Weaknesses
- Lateral quickness is lacking so he is likely stuck at boundary corner in a man scheme.
- Surprisingly (because he was a WR) finishing ability with ball (interceptions) seems to be lacking.
- Footwork and hip fluidity could improve with more technique work but he can under or over commit which can put him slightly out of position.
- Needs to add functional strength.
Let’s see his work:
Throwing jump balls against Justin Layne is simply ineffective. WR convert who excels at the catch point. Love how patient and under control he is on this rep. Natural. pic.twitter.com/U6FGUhVKGD
— Jonah Tuls (@JonahTulsNFL) March 26, 2019
MSU corner Justin Layne plays the jump ball as well as anyone you'll find but a combo of average speed and stiffness has me worried. My breakdown. https://t.co/Fxtt4TAdSk pic.twitter.com/kbtOP6IxZg
— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) February 26, 2019
Justin Layne! pic.twitter.com/1FUVWebQVi
— WeAreDBnation (@WeAreDBNation1) July 1, 2018
Justin Layne posted a Great #RAS with Good size, Okay speed, Great explosiveness, Good agility, at the CB position. pic.twitter.com/wJN4VJbsM1
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 5, 2019
How Would He Fit On The Redskins?
Another press corner! I think the Redskins should change coverage schemes by now don’t you? Layne’s talent is without question but his fit in Washington is because of the secondary scheme as we know it. Could changes be coming? I don’t know. But if they are it would be silly not to consider Layne at 46 if he’s still there. The Redskins will likely move on from Josh Norman in 2020 and the same could be true for Quinton Dunbar. Whether the Redskins know it or not most of their corners come from man schemes in college anyway. It’s time to put an end to the square peg round hole problem in the secondary. Layne has the skills to be a CB1. With some development I think he could be one of the best corners in the league eventually. The Redskins will have to address this position with a stud sooner or later. Why not Layne?