The Steelers signed fifth-round draft pick Jaylen Samuels to a four-year contract. Samuels was the team's second pick in the fifth round, the 165th overall selection.
Samuels, a running back from North Carolina State, is the first of the team's seven players from the 2018 NFL Draft to sign.
"The kid is a very talented, multi-purpose kid that has done a lot of different jobs," said running backs coach James Saxon. "He's going to get every opportunity once he comes here to do a lot different jobs. I think the value in a kid like him, for a coach, is you can use him in a lot of different areas like NC State did. He is going to get an opportunity to do everything we do in our room in terms of being a running back. The kid answers the bell in a lot of different ways."
Samuels holds the NC State record for career receptions with 202, and is second with 47 career touchdowns. He played both running back and tight end in college, and a true sign of his versatility he was first-team ACC as an all-purpose player.
"Being able to catch the ball, run the ball, and make guys miss in open space. I feel like that's my specialty," said Samuels. "I'm more of a power-style running back. A guy that's going to get North to South. Our team at NC State, we ran a lot of outside zone, so once we ran outside zone, I just tried to hit it downhill, make guys miss. I'm a stiff-arm type guy. That's my specialty, the stiff arm. Just try to get around guys and make guys miss so that's the kind of runner I am. Smart runner, got a lot of good football IQ so just got a little knack for the end zone. That's just what I do."
