Faceoff - LB Donnie Edwards, Kansas City Chiefs

Posted 7/19, exclusive to Footballguys.com

Upside - by Bob Magaw

Edwards has been one of the most athletic, talented and productive LBs of the past decade. Ten consecutive 100+ combined tackle seasons puts him in extremely rare company, with the likes of Derrick Brooks and Zach Thomas (along with Edwards, all born in '73). Has played with the consistency and reliability of an atomic clock. In the past half decade, he was top 10 in solo tackles in '06 (100), top 2 in '05 (114), '04 (105) and '03 (124) and top 10 in '02 (100).

Edwards has the versatility, multi-faceted skill set and well rounded game to have excelled inside and outside at LB. He can run, hit and cover, with tremendous speed and range, outstanding instincts and ability to sift through traffic, explosive open field tackling ability and safety-like coverage chops and ball skills. In ten years of full-time action since his rookie season, the former UCLA All-American has had at least 2 INTs in eight seasons (27 career INTs tops among active LBs). He's been a big play machine the past three seasons in SD (combined 6.5 sacks, 10 INTs and 6 FFs), and his 6 career TDs are a testament to how dangerous a playmaker he is once he has the ball in his hands.

The Chiefs aren't known for having a stout interior DL, so there could be even more tackle opps than he has enjoyed in recent seasons with the Chargers. KC could be in a re-tooling year on both sides of the ball, and Edwards could find himself in many games in which the defense is on the field a lot (they face some powerhouse divisional offenses in SD and DEN), and in situations where the opponents have the lead and are in position to pound the ball to control the clock during the end game.

Crazy durable, Edwards has missed just two games in his 11 year career, and one in the past decade (near the top 5 of longest active streaks in the NFL). Despite being 34, continues to play at an elite level... he may be a Clay Matthews-like mutant and physical freak capable of playing at a high level well into his 30s. His superior athleticism and phenomenal field awareness prevent him from being on the wrong end of career shortening kill shots.

At some point the last grain of sand will fall in the hour glass of his NFL career. Until that time, he will be a favorite of IDP teams playing to win now (with his top 5 upside)... tomorrow can take care of itself.

Downside - by Jeff Pasquino

Donnie Edwards has been a Top 3 LB for the past five seasons, yet somehow I have him not ranked that high, so why is that? For one thing, Edwards is no longer an interior linebacker for a Wade Phillips defense. He now finds himself in the same division but playing in Kansas City where he is slated to start at the right outside linebacker for the Chiefs in 2007. Edwards has returned to whence he came as he was a Chief for his first six years, all under Gunther Cunningham. So now not only does Edwards go home in a sense to play for Kansas City, but he also gets his original defensive coordinator once again for this season.

The new coaching staff (and jersey) is only part of the changes for Edwards. His teammates at the other three spots are far less talented than the Chargers' lineup, highlighted by the lack of a stud LB such as Shawne Merriman on the outside to drive action towards the middle where Edwards can rack up the tackles. Looking back to his early days in KC, Edwards topped the 100 solo tackle mark just once in six full years with the Chiefs, whereas he broke that number four of five years as a Charger.

Edwards does find himself on a 4-3 base defense here, but he's not going to be in the middle any longer so I'd expect a dropoff in his outstanding production from his San Diego days. His fellow starters in OLB Derrick Johnson and MLB Napoleon "Nap" Harris may also be the two linebackers that stay on the field for nickel coverage, giving the older Edwards some rest. Sure Edwards is a proven player, but at some point the years do catch up with you and it is a long and grinding season. Edwards is 34 and is entering his 12th season in the NFL, so at some point a decline has to be expected.

Lastly, Edwards is much more known as a tackler than as a big play linebacker. He has only had one season with more than three sacks, and that was way back in 1998 with six. He does have 10 interceptions in the past three seasons, but that does not quite offset his 6.5 sacks over that same span.

Edwards is a solid NFL linebacker, but you cannot expect LB1 numbers (and probably not even LB2 numbers) out of him as a Chief this season. He will give you a solid performance most weeks, but the tackling machine that was Donnie Edwards was one part Edwards, one part Wade Phillips, and one part San Diego Chargers. With two of those three missing this year, do not rely on Edwards too heavily for your 2007 fantasy team.