The Jets have signed running back/wideout/returner Dri Archer to a reserve/future contract.
Archer (5'8", 173) was the third-round choice (97th overall) of Pittsburgh in the 2014 draft out of Kent State who was waived by the Steelers last November.
In his two seasons for the Steelers, Dri (pronounced "DREE") played in 20 games and had 23 kickoff returns for a 22.4-yard average. On offense he had 10 carries for 40 yards and seven receptions for 23 yards, all in 2014.
He intrigued the NFL with his Kent State career plus his performance at the 2014 NFL Combine, where he recorded a 4.26-second 40-yard dash, second-fastest in the last 10 combines only to Chris Johnson's legendary 4.24 in 2008.
In his 2012 season, Archer started all 14 games and rushed for 1,429 yards on 159 carries (9.0 yards/carry) and 16 touchdowns, and added 39 receptions for 561 yards and four TDs, giving him 1,990 yards from scrimmage and 20 TDs.
He also had 591 kickoff return yards and 2,577 all-purpose yards in '12. Three of his returns went for touchdowns and one of them was a 99-yarder against Ball State. That gave him 23 TDs for the year, a school record. His multi-threat approach earned him the MAC's Special Teams Player of the Year award and a finalist's spot for the Paul Hornung Award honoring the nation's most versatile player.
In 2013 his numbers suffered due to an ankle sprain suffered in the opener, yet he still ran for 527 yards, had 327 receiving yards and had only two KO returns, one of them for a 100-yard TD against Northern Illinois.
For his college career Archer had 2,342 rushing yards, 1,194 receiving yards and 1,436 kickoff return yards.
