Dri Archer Will Be Key for Steelers' Early-Season Success

Dri Archer won't replace Le'Veon Bell for the Pittsburgh Steelers this Thursday.

The Steelers are playing the New England Patriots in the NFL regular-season opener without their suspended star running back. Bell had emerged into one of the best backs in the NFL last year, but the NFL suspended him for the first two games for a substance-abuse violation.

Knowing that the suspension was coming, the Steelers went out in the offseason and brought in veteran runner DeAngelo Williams to take Bell's place in the starting lineup.

Williams would have been a fine replacement for Bell, who could comfortably fit into the offense and complement the passing game as a strong runner. Since Bell's suspension, the Steelers have had to readjust because of a severe injury to center Maurkice Pouncey and a suspension to Martavis Bryant.

Losing Pouncey will detract from the versatility of the team's rushing attack and screen game. Losing Bryant will make its play-action threat less severe and force the offense to spread the ball around more.

Those two losses should push Archer into a greater role.

Archer (5'8", 173 lbs) is unlike Williams. He's not a between-the-tackles runner. He is a space player who is better suited to play in shotgun formations than Williams is. While he lacks the bulk to be effective against contact, he has the speed (4.26 40-yard dash) to take advantage of space and the versatility to move around the formation.

The departures of Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner and Kyle Arrington in the offseason have depleted the Patriots' secondary depth. Spreading the defense out with five receiving options makes more sense for the Steelers than attempting to run into the Patriots' strong front seven.

Both Antonio Brown and Markus Wheaton are good fits in a game plan that relies heavily on quick passes, but it's the lack of a third option that hurts Todd Haley's offense.

Rookie Sammie Coates hasn't done enough through training camp and the preseason to be trusted in place of Bryant. Limited veteran Darrius Heyward-Bey is expected to assume his snaps. Heyward-Bey, Heath Miller and Williams are the three ancillary pieces in the offense.

None of those three players offer the same dynamism or versatility as Archer at their respective stages of their careers.

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Without Pouncey starting at center, it will be important for the Steelers to consistently move the point of attack for the offense. Archer would be ideal as the focal point of that type of offense because of how the Steelers can put the ball in his hands.

On this play, Archer lines up directly behind the quarterback in the pistol formation.

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With the pistol alignment, the offense has the flexibility to do a lot of things. The defense is still wary of a traditional handoff run or a pocket pass. As such, it treats this play more like the quarterback being under center instead of in the shotgun.

At the snap, both of the Buffalo Bills edge-rushers penetrate downfield like they would against a pocket pass.

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Archer ran directly into the flat at the snap. Save for one defender who peeled back to cut off the underneath pursuit, the rest of Archer's blockers mirrored his movement, moving laterally toward the right sideline. Although Landry Jones threw the ball to Archer, this was essentially a running play.

The design of the play executed from the pistol alignment put Archer in space instead of asking him to find it.

From there, Archer was able to evade one defender to get to the sideline before accelerating down the sideline for a six-yard gain. It may have only been six yards, but it was a simple six yards while punishing the aggressiveness of the defense's pass-rushers upfront.

Constantly getting rid of the ball quickly or throwing the ball in different ways to different areas of the field creates doubt in the minds of defenders. It can lead to hesitation at the snap that alleviates the pressure on the offense's blocking upfront.

With the talent on the Patriots defensive line, a Pouncey-less unit for the Steelers will need all of the help it can get.

Pittsburgh can use Archer on draw plays and more traditional screens from the backfield, but where the 24-year-old really separates himself from Williams in terms of versatility is as a receiver. Throughout the preseason, the Steelers have spread defenses out with five receivers, including Archer.

Like on the above play, lining Archer up outside puts him in space instead of asking him to find it.

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It's 1st-and-10 on this play. Archer lines up in the slot to the right side of the offense. Importantly, that is the near side of the field, where there are more receivers than on the open side. This makes it tougher for the defense to press him aggressively at the line of scrimmage.

The Carolina Panthers weren't looking to be aggressive anyway as they lined up all their coverage off the line of scrimmage with just four defenders threatening to rush the passer.

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At the snap, the Panthers drop into zone coverage. Archer angles his release infield, where two linebackers are watching the quarterback in the pocket and back-pedaling. This creates space for Archer to settle down his curl route.

Sitting down over the middle of the field gives the quarterback an easy throw, while Archer can comfortably catch the ball just before both linebackers recover their positions to hit him.

The Patriots don't have much speed in their linebacking corps. Jamie Collins is the freak athlete of the group. But Dont'a Hightower is more reliant on his discipline in coverage, and Jerod Mayo is an unknown coming off of multiple major injuries.

Getting Archer isolated in space over the middle of the field against zone coverage should allow for some simple receptions. Against man coverage they will need to be more creative.

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To give Archer a free release from the line of scrimmage the Steelers don't have to line him up in bunches or stack him behind a teammate. They do need to keep him close enough to other receivers to allow for route combinations to spring him into space.

In the above play against the Green Bay Packers, the defense plays off coverage, but Archer is masked by releasing inside behind the tight end who advances down the seam.

With each defender focused on his own assignment, there is a huge amount of space left over the middle of the field for Archer to run into. The diminutive receiver/running back has once again been put in space without being asked to find it.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has proved over his career that he can carry an offense with a limited running game for stretches. If the Steelers want to spread their offense out and attack the Patriots' weaknesses, they should feel comfortable doing it.

To be successful doing it though, they will need someone behind Wheaton and Brown to establish himself.

Archer is entering his second season. He had a negligible impact during his rookie season despite threatening to do much more during the preseason. This preseason has been less enticing, but there have been reminders of his explosiveness and versatility.

It's hard to bet on Archer based on what he's done to this point in his career. The Steelers have very few other options at this point, though.