With the 24th pick in the 1997 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected 6’1”, 205-pound cornerback Chad Scott out of Maryland, a year after they had gone through a season of playing a converted safety and a disappointing free agent acquisition at the cornerback spots.
With the 25th pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected 6’, 190-pound cornerback Artie Burns out of Miami, a year after they had gone through a season of injuries and inefficacy at the cornerback position.
In between the selections of Scott and Burns, the Steelers had not used their first-round selection in the subsequent 19 drafts to add a cornerback, but rarely in the interim had they been as desperate at the position as they had been now, or 19 years ago.