Pittsburgh Steelers breakout player candidate – CB Artie Burns

The Pittsburgh Steelers invested a first round pick in cornerback Artie Burns in 2016, and he leads their top breakout player candidates in 2017…

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a rich tradition of stellar defensive play. With the offensive side of the ball taking the majority of the headlines in recent years, could cornerback Artie Burns help key a defensive revival?

Burns is a leading candidate to be the Steelers’ big breakout player in 2017. He played in all 16 games and all three Steelers playoff games last season, starting nine regular season games and picking off three passes.

He showed the potential at times of why the Steelers took him number one overall, but like with pretty much all rookies, there were areas where Burns could clearly grow and get better. He told the media at Steelers OTAs that he feels like playing man coverage can help both him and the team have even more success.

"“Every team that’s won Super Bowls the last couple of years has been able to play man. We want to be a team to play man, get the pressure on the quarterback and attack coverage downfield…It’s always some opening in a zone defense,” Burns said. “It’s someone who missed a drop, or it’s always some group in a zone defense. To be able to play man, to get a guy right in someone’s chest with the pressure, it affects the quarterback a little bit.”Artie Burns, via Jeremy Fowler (ESPN)"

The Steelers obviously have really high expectations for Burns, who has been tested greatly this offseason in one-on-one work with Antonio Brown. So far, Burns hasn’t backed down from that great challenge…

Going up against Brown in practice every day is going to help Burns gain some confidence. It really doesn’t get any tougher than that, so all he really has to do is let the iron sharpen iron.

Pittsburgh is counting on this kid to be their number one cornerback this season. He came into OTAs this offseason stronger, bigger, and in much better shape for an NFL grind. You can’t help but love seeing a guy come out of a rookie season and trial by fire with so much confidence, especially given the fact that he goes up against Antonio Brown every single day.

Burns has a chance to be a special player, and this year will be the year that he really breaks out and shows why he was a top pick a year ago.