Pittsburgh Steelers sign third-round pick Dri Archer
The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed 2014 third-round pick Dri Archer to a four-year contract, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com. That leaves second-round pick Stephen Tuitt as the only remaining unsigned draft pick from the team’s 2014 draft class.
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Archer, a speedy-yet-undersized skill player, was drafted out of Kent State with the No. 97 overall pick in the draft. A wide receiver and running back who amassed over 5,000 all-purpose yards as a star in college, he’ll likely start off his professional career on special teams returning kicks.
Measured at 5-foot-8 and 173 pounds, Archer is rather small for someone expected to pile up yardage, but he brings astonishing speed to the table. And by astonishing, I mean that he’s arguably the fastest player to enter the NFL this season.
At the 2014 NFL Scouting Combine in February, Archer’s 40-yard dash time of 4.26 seconds proved tops in the entire class.
During this offseason, Archer has taken snaps at running back and wide receiver in addition to fielding punts. During his senior year at Kent State, he stopped returning kicks in order to preserve his health given his role on offense, but he’ll presumably be given a chance to be a key contributor on special teams right out of the gate this fall.
With Archer now under contract, the Steelers have signed every player they drafted last month, including first-round pick Ryan Shazier.
Once a deal gets done with Tuitt, which should presumably happen any week now, Pittsburgh will be able to enter camp without any headaches from unsigned rookies.