The New Orleans Saints held an official visit with Michigan State Spartans cornerback Justin Layne two weeks before the 2019 NFL Draft, per his official Instagram account. Layne shared photos from the Saints’ facilities, visiting 2017 Defensive Rookie of the Year Marshon Lattimore’s locker. He’s an exciting prospect for a number of reasons.
Like Lattimore, Layne was a receiver in high school. He was a nice four-star recruit for Michigan State but he ended up converting to cornerback. That’s where his size and ball skills really shined — Layne racked up 23 pass deflections in two years as a starter, playing sparingly as a freshman while still learning the position. In his 29-game career, Layne collected 130 tackles (79 solo), 4.5 of them resulted in lost yards for the offense.
He measured in at 6-foot-1 3/4, 192 pounds with 33-inch arms at the NFL Scouting Combine, and performed well in athletic testing: timing the 40-yard dash in 4.50 seconds, the three-cone drill in 6.90 seconds, and the 20-yard shuttle in 4.09 seconds. He also recorded a 134-inch broad jump and 37 1/2-inch vertical jump, making him one of the event’s top performers at the position.
Layne plays better in man coverage than zone, excelling when he’s allowed to put hands on his opponents and disrupt their routes. He should absolutely be in play for the Saints’ first pick at 62, though expect them to add the best player available. If Layne impresses the Saints during his pre-draft visit and continues to build on the momentum he’s gained in the months leading up to the draft, watch out.
