Faceoff - DB Adam Archuleta, Chicago Bears

Posted 8/3, exclusive to Footballguys.com

Upside - by John Norton

A lot of people are going to look at last year's fiasco in Washington and say that Archuleta is washed up. Don't be one of those people. The Redskins simply made personnel blunder by signing Archuleta to begin with. If they wanted a speedy, finesse kind of safety, maybe they should have looked at some game film before trying to shove a square peg into a round hole. Even so, prior to being benched last year, Archuleta put up 8 or more solo stops in 4 of the first 6 games. He is an in the box, run support safety who doesn't particularly excel in coverage but is adequate. What he brings is an intimidation factor. Lovie Smith coached Archuleta in St. Louis when he put up 94 solo tackles and was a top 5 fantasy DB. There is no doubt that Smith knows Archuleta's strengths and how to use him. Archuleta already knows the scheme and there is zero chance that he will not fit into it. The only question here is health. Not so much Archuleta's health but Mike Brown's. Archuleta had missed a few games in recent years but it was a non-factor last season. Brown on the other hand, has missed 28 games over the past 3 seasons including 10 last year with a serious foot injury. He has participated in the off-season program with no setbacks and should be ready for camp. A healthy Brown gives the coaching staff a lot of options. During mini-camp the first team D featured Archuleta at SS with Brown working at FS. If that alignment sticks (and it should), Archuleta could return to the top 20 this season. There are a couple of other interesting possibilities here. After failing to reach an agreement on a long term deal, Lance Briggs may refuse to report to the team. In this case Archuleta could assume a linebacker's role in the nickel package much as he did with the Rams. This would be a huge plus for his numbers. On the other hand, if Briggs does report, Archuleta could be pulled in passing situations. There is certainly a lot of wait and see with this situation but there is a great deal of potential surrounding Archuleta as well.

Downside - by Sigmund Bloom

Lovie Smith finally got his wish this offseason, reuniting with Adam Archuleta, hoping to return Archuleta to the form of his glory days with St. Louis. Archuleta is a different player than he was when he posted numbers good enough to be the #3 fantasy DB in 2002. He has been exposed as a liability in coverage, he has struggled with injuries, and he has failed to come anywhere near that level of fantasy production since that season. Archuleta is also in a different situation than he was in St. Louis, surrounded by a lot more talent. He's worth a pick as your #3 DB after the surer options at the top of the "pack" of DBs that starts around #15 have dried up, but someone else will probably take him on the promise of his past numbers before that happens.

Since 2002, Archuleta has only cracked the top 60 DBs once. He was almost as active in run defense in 2003 (71 solo tackles), but he missed three games due to an ankle injury, and ended up the #26 defensive back. Injuries have been an all too common part of Archuleta's career. He missed games in his rookie year of 2001 due to ankle and concussion issues. A herniated disk limited him for all of the 2004 season. He missed a pair of games with a concussion in 2005.

The good news for Archuleta owners is that he actually played all 16 games in 2006. The bad news is that he was benched midseason because he wasn't able to fit into Gregg Williams' system in Washington. Archuleta is out of that system ,as the Bears were willing to give up a 6th round pick to bring miscast safety to Chicago. Lovie Smith certainly knows how to use Archuleta, but teams also know how to attack and expose Archuleta. He won't be able to be used as a traditional every down/do it all safety, and the Bears are deep enough at the position to not leave themselves vulnerable by having Archuleta in there in passing situations unless he is blitzing or playing linebacker. Danieal Manning had a terrific rookie season, and Mike Brown is ready to come back from the foot injury that ended his 2006. There are also much better linebackers in front of Archuleta than there were in St. Louis in the form of Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs.

Although the reunion of Lovie Smith and Adam Archuleta may evoke memories of the days when he was a fantasy force, there are enough differences between then and now to be wary of taking him as anything more than a late flier in your IDP league.