With Artie Burns no longer viewed as part of the Pittsburgh Steelers future as a starting cornerback, the team is expected to address the position early in the NFL Draft in three weeks.

The Steelers hosted two highly rated draft candidates Friday at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

Brought in for visits were Michigan State corner Justin Layne and Temple counterpart Rock Ya-Sin. They are the second and third cornerbacks hosted by the Steelers this week in the predraft process.

Although the Steelers signed veteran Steven Nelson to start opposite Joe Haden, they would like to fortify the position in the draft, particularly with the decline of Burns, their first-round pick in 2016.

The top three cornerbacks in the draft are widely viewed to be LSU’s Greedy Williams, Washington’s Byron Murphy and Georgia’s Deandre Baker. Layne and Ya-Sin are in the next tier of corners and could be second- or third-round targets.

Layne is a 6-foot-2, 192-pound corner who left Michigan State after his junior season, declining to play in the team’s bowl game so he could prepare for the draft. Recruited as a wide receiver, Layne was switched to defense midway through his freshman season.

Layne spent his sophomore and junior seasons starting in the Spartans secondary. Last season, he had 72 tackles and one interception. He ranked among the top 10 players in Division I with 15 pass breakups.

Ya-Sin (6-0, 192 pounds) started his college career at FCS school Presbyterian. He transferred to Temple as a graduate student and played for the Owls in 2018. He was a first-team all-conference pick after recording 47 tackles, 12 pass breakups and two interceptions. Like Layne, he also did not play in his team’s bowl game.

The Steelers have conducted 17 of their 30 official visits, while also hosting three local players who didn’t count toward their allotment.

Of the Steelers’ 20 predraft visitors, they have hosted five running backs, five linebackers, three wide receivers, three safeties, three cornerbacks and one tight end.

Here is the list of players the Steelers already have hosted:

APRIL 1: RB Miles Sanders (Penn State), RB Damien Harris (Alabama), TE Alize Mack (Notre Dame), WR Andy Isabella (UMass), WR Dillon Mitchell (Oregon).

APRIL 2: RB Mike Weber (Ohio State), RB Jordan Scarlett (Florida), RB Travis Homer (Miami), WR Miles Boykin (Notre Dame), LB David Long (West Virginia).

APRIL 3: S Ugo Amadi (Oregon), S Darnell Savage (Maryland), LB Jordan Brailford (Oklahoma State), LB Ben Burr-Kirven (Washington).

APRIL 4: S Dravon Henry (West Virginia), CB Sean Bunting (Central Michigan), LB Ulysses Gilbert III (Akron), LB Gary Johnson (Texas).

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