Dri Archer
No. 13
Position:Running back
Return specialist
Personal information
Born: (1991-08-09) August 9, 1991 (age 32)
Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Height:5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight:173 lb (78 kg)
Career information
High school:Venice (Venice, Florida)
College:Kent State
NFL draft:2014 / Round: 3 / Pick: 97
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Rushing attempts:10
Rushing yards:40
Rushing touchdowns:0
Receptions:7
Receiving yards:23
Receiving touchdowns:0
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Adrion Dante "Dri" Archer (born August 9, 1991) is an American former professional football player who was a running back and return specialist for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Kent State Golden Flashes, earning consensus All-American honors on 2012. He was selected by the Steelers in the third round of the 2014 NFL draft. He was also a member of the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills.

Early years

Archer attended Venice High School, where he was a member of the basketball, football, and track teams.[1] In track, he finished second in the 100 meters final of state track meet in his first full season of running (behind World Class sprinter Dentarius Locke and ahead of third place Denard Robinson),[2] with a time of 10.49 seconds.[3] He also ran the 200 meters in 21.46 seconds.

As a senior, he was named to the all-area first-team in football. He helped Venice High School win two district titles.[4]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40‡ Commit date
Dri Archer
RB 		Venice, Florida Venice High School 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 4.6 Jan 23, 2009 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:2/5 stars   Rivals:2/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: – (RB)   Rivals: – (RB), – (FL)  ESPN: – (RB)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Kent State Football Commitment List (23)". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  • "Kent State College Football Recruiting Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  • "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  • "2009 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 12, 2013.

College career

Archer was offered track scholarships from both Clemson and Arkansas. Kent State was the only school to offer him a football scholarship where he elected to attend. As a freshman at Kent State University, in 2009, he played in 11 games as a wide receiver/running back and had 246 rushing yards and 231 receiving yards. The following season, he had 140 rushing yards and 75 receiving yards.[4] Before the 2011 season, Archer was ruled ineligible for academic reasons.[5]

In 2012, Archer had 1,429 rushing yards, 16 rushing touchdowns, 561 receiving yards, and four receiving touchdowns. His 24 total touchdowns led the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and set a single-season school record. Against Ball State, Archer had a 99-yard kick return for a touchdown and set a career-high with 350 all-purpose yards. Against Eastern Michigan, he had a rushing touchdown, a receiving touchdown, and a kick return touchdown. Against Army, he had 222 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown, and a passing touchdown.[6] Archer was named the MAC Special Teams Player of the Year. He made the All-MAC first-team as a running back and kick returner. He was also a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award.[4] Archer was a consensus All-American.[7]

Statistics

Source:[8]

Rushing Receiving Kickoff Returns Punt Returns
Season Team GS GP Att Yds Avg TD Long Rec Yds TD Att Yds Avg TD Long Att Yds Avg TD Long
2009 Kent State 0 11 58 246 4.2 1 28 19 231 3 11 266 24.2 0 77 0 0 – 0 0
2010 Kent State 0 10 40 140 3.5 1 17 16 75 1 22 451 20.5 0 39 5 12 2.4 0 16
2012 Kent State 14 14 159 1,429 9.0 16 87 39 561 4 16 591 36.9 3 99 1 −4 −4 0 −4
2013 Kent State 10 10 68 527 7.8 6 74 25 327 4 2 128 64.0 1 100 0 0 – 0 –
Totals 24 45 325 2,342 7.2 24 87 99 1,194 12 51 1,436 28.2 4 100 6 8 1.3 0 16

Professional career

Pre-draft

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press Wonderlic
5 ft 7+3⁄4 in
(1.72 m) 		173 lb
(78 kg) 		31 in
(0.79 m) 		8+7⁄8 in
(0.23 m)		 4.26 s 1.47 s 2.34 s 4.06 s 6.86 s 38 in
(0.97 m)		 10 ft 2 in
(3.10 m)		 20 reps 19
All values from NFL Combine[9]

At the NFL Scouting Combine, Archer ran the 40-yard dash in 4.26 seconds,[9] which is the fourth-fastest time ever recorded since the NFL began electronic timing.[10]

Pittsburgh Steelers

He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 3rd round with the 97th overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft.[11]

On September 7, 2014, Archer made his NFL debut against the Cleveland Browns.[12] In his rookie season, Archer totaled ten carries for 40 yards and seven receptions for 23 yards to go along with occasional kickoff return duties in 12 games.[13]

In 2015, Archer saw more action in the kick return game but did not factor into the offense. He finished with 14 kickoff returns for 324 net yards for a 25.29 average.[14]

On November 5, 2015, Archer was waived by the Steelers.[15]

New York Jets

On February 3, 2016, Archer signed a reserve/future contract with the New York Jets.[10] On May 9, 2016, Archer was waived by the Jets.[16]

Buffalo Bills

Archer was claimed off waivers by the Buffalo Bills on May 10, 2016.[17] When he failed to report to the team, he was placed on the reserve/did not report list on May 18, 2016.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Dri Archer, Venice , All Purpose Back". 247Sports. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  2. ^ "Kent State University Athletics – Dri Archer – 2013–14 Football". kentstatesports.com.
  3. ^ "De'Anthony Thomas Vs. Dri Archer: Cut from the Same Mold?". Archived from the original on February 25, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c "Dri Archer". kentstatesports.com. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  5. ^ "After sitting out last season, KSU's Dri Archer to take on dual role of running back and receiver". Akron Beacon Journal. March 30, 2012. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  6. ^ "Kent State at Army Box Score, October 13, 2012". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  7. ^ "Kent State's Archer named consensus FBS All-American". HT Preps. December 17, 2012. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  8. ^ "Dri Archer". www.sports-reference.com. USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  9. ^ a b "NFL Events: Combine Player Profiles – Dri Archer". nfl.com.
  10. ^ a b Cimini, Rich (February 3, 2016). "Jets sign former Steelers KR Dri Archer, who ran second-fastest 40 in combine history". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  11. ^ Coppinger, Mike (May 10, 2014). "Pittsburgh Steelers draft Dri Archer, combine's fastest". National Football League. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  12. ^ "Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers - September 7th, 2014". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  13. ^ "Dri Archer 2014 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  14. ^ "Dri Archer 2015 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  15. ^ Bouchette, Ed (November 5, 2015). "Steelers replace Archer with ex-Raven Jacoby Jones". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  16. ^ Slater, Darryl (May 9, 2016). "Jets claim ex-Giants TE Jerome Cunningham, waive RB/KR Dri Archer". NJ.com. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  17. ^ Brown, Chris (May 10, 2016). "Bills awarded claim for RB Dri Archer". BuffaloBills.com. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  18. ^ Brown, Chris (May 18, 2016). "Bills place RB Dri Archer on Reserve/Did Not Report list". BuffaloBills.com. Retrieved November 4, 2016.

External links

2012 College Football All-America Team consensus selections
Pittsburgh Steelers 2014 NFL draft selections
Categories