Steelers sign undrafted safety P.J. Locke of Texas
It raised eyebrows when the Pittsburgh Steelers ignored safety with all nine of their draft picks and signed only one in the undrafted free agent market.
They added another Monday with the signing of undrafted free agent P.J. Locke of Texas.
GOD is Good! ?? If anybody know me. Y’all know what’s about to go down! Thank you #steelersnation for the opportunity and believing in me. ???? pic.twitter.com/K028I8wO6i
— James "PJ" Locke III?? (@PjLocke4) April 29, 2019
The 5-foot-11, 210-pound Locke started 31 games over four seasons for the Longhorns and was honorable mention All-Big 12 as a senior, when he finished third on the team with 77 tackles (57 solo, 5½ for loss), one interception, two forced fumbles and three pass breakups.
Congratulations @PjLocke4 on signing with the @steelers! Texas Made.#ThisIsTexas #HookEm pic.twitter.com/DrqC4JHGjd
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) April 29, 2019
Locke has a background as a cornerback but is big enough to be a hybrid safety/linebacker. He reportedly ran a 4.38 in the 40-yard dash, had 22 bench-press reps of 225 pounds and had a 36.5-inch vertical jump at Texas’ pro day.
“I feel like I’m really unique,” Locke told the Beaumont Enterprise. “You’re drafting six guys in one. I feel like that’s a very valuable asset of mine that translates to the NFL.”
Hey, Steeler Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.