Why looking for red flags will help Steelers avoid mistakes of the past

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JACKSONVILLE, FL – AUGUST 14: Dri Archer #13 of the Pittsburgh Steelers runs for yards during a preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field on August 14, 2015 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

RB/WR Dri Archer

3rd round, 2014

Red flags:

Undersized prospect with no mass to his frame
No real position – even in college
Small school production
Averaged 1.3 yards per punt return in college

Anytime you are selecting a player in the third round, it’s obviously less of a risk than if you were taking them at the top of the draft. I get the intrigue over Dri Archer. He was an extremely fast player, and 4.26 speed is hard to come by. However, there were numerous red flags.

Archer was bite-sized with no real position. Though we’ve seen players like that work before in the NFL, he was not a dominant college player and he played at a very small program (Kent State). Archer had just 527 rushing yards and 327 receiving yards as a senior. While he was a good kick returner in college, his 1.3 yards per punt return and limited usage in that area should have raised some eyebrows.

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