The Steelers signed fifth-round draft pick Brian Allen to a four-year contract.
Allen, a cornerback out of the University of Utah, is the first of the team's eight players from the 2017 NFL Draft to sign.
Allen made the transition from wide receiver to cornerback in 2014, a transition that went well for him as he racked up 62 tackles, 14 passes defensed and five interceptions.
His size, 6-3, gives the Steelers someone with good height in the secondary, and he uses that to his advantage.
"He has good skills with playing the football, is long at the line of scrimmage and plays press coverage in man," said defensive backs coach Carnell Lake. "He hasn't played the position very long, but he has shown a real knack for a position-converted receiver. There are a lot of upsides with this player.
"Brian has shown the ability to get up in a receiver's face and he's done a good job of pressing the receivers and disrupting receivers at the line of scrimmage. He's a good jumper with good ball skills. It's going to be tough for guys to throw that over his head. He gives you the ability to disrupt at the line, the ability to play the deep ball, and he's fast enough to stick with most receivers."
