Apr 28, 2016 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Steelers got a cornerback in the first round of the NFL Draft Thursday night.

It just wasn’t the corner that many Steelers’ fans would have predicted.

With Jalen Ramsey, Vernon Hargreaves and Eli Apple already gone, Houston’s William Jackson III looked as if he might fall to the Steelers.

But the Cincinnati Bengals foiled those plans by taking Jackson with the 24th pick, one spot ahead of the Steelers, who then took Miami cornerback Artie Burns.

“Artie Burns, I told the scouts yesterday, that’s going to be our guy,” said Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert.

“That’s the way we thought things would fall, and they did.”

Burns (6-0, 197) is a 20-year-old true junior he turns 21 on May 1 – who was a two-year starter at Miami. He left Miami early after the death of his mother last October to a heart attack.

Burns, a former junior All-America record holder in the 60-meter hurdles, has taken charge of caring for his younger siblings and expects to bring them with him to Pittsburgh. His father is serving a 25-year prison sentence for cocaine trafficking.

“Artie is a level-headed, caring young man,” his grandmother, Barbara Cason, told the Miami Herald. “He’s very quiet, but driven. The grace of God has carried him through. The boys will finish the school year here. They’re a little nervous, but he’s their big brother and they look up to him.”

Despite the personal tragedy, in 2015, Burns led the ACC with six interceptions, the most by a Hurricane since Sean Taylor had 10 in 2003.

“He’s a solid young man,” said Colbert. “He went through some tragedy this year with his mother passing away. He fought his way through that and came out the other side and put together a solid year.”

Colbert said Burns’ bump-and-run skills were among the best in this draft, though many draft prognosticators had Burns rated as more of a second-round talent. The Steelers had him rated as a first-round talent.

“We really started to see this draft class with the corners come together back in November,” said Colbert, adding it was the deepest corner draft class he’s seen in his 17 seasons of running Pittsburgh’s drafts.

“It really turned out to be just that and we were very fortunate that this young man was available for us.”

For his career, Burns appeared in 36 games, starting 23 while recording 93 tackles, seven interceptions and two sacks while breaking up 14 passes.

The Steelers will add Burns to a secondary that was in dire need of an influx of talent after ranking 30th in the NFL in pass defense. And that was before starter Antwon Blake and nickel corner Brandon Boykin both signed elsewhere as free agents.

“There’s a lot to be excited about Artie,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “He’s a third-year player. He has a lot of growth potential. We’re excited about the upside. He’s a master at bump corner; it appears to be something that’s a natural element of his game.”

Burns will join William Gay, Ross Cockrell and last year’s second-round pick, Senquez Golson as the team’s top four cornerbacks.

The Steelers had not selected a cornerback in the first round of the draft since taking Chad Scott in 1997 and had not taken a defensive back in the opening round since trading up to acquire Troy Polamalu in 2003.

Pittsburgh still has six remaining picks over the final two days and six rounds of the draft, including one each in rounds 2, 3, 4 and 6, and two in round 7.