NFL Draft Of The Decade: The Pac-10's No. 31

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Nick Daschel

Nick Daschel is a veteran sports writer and columnist who has worked on the West coast for nearly three decades. Nick has covered the Pac-10 for about 15 years, primarily focusing on the Northwest schools.

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NFL Draft Of The Decade: The Pac-10's No. 31

Wednesday, April 8, 2009 3:00 PM
Posted By: Nick Daschel
In: Pac-10

This post is part of the series The Pac-10's NFL Draft Of The Decade

(Note: With the NFL draft approaching later in April, we thought it would fun to look back at the Pac-10’s top draft picks of the past decade (2000-09) and see where we would pick them. Continuing today and ending sometime close to the draft on April 25, we’ll count down a first round worth of Pac-10 draft picks, from 32 to 1. The list includes five quarterbacks, five running backs, five defensive linemen, five linebackers, three wide receivers, three offensive linemen and two tight ends.)

NO. 31: ADAM ARCHULETA, ARIZONA STATE, LB

Not a bad career for a former college walk-on. From overlooked to Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. From boy going to the local college to the 20^th pick of the 2001 draft. From college unknown to married to a Playboy Playmate.

OK, so that last line was gratuitous.

Archuleta energized the Sun Devils’ defense for four years with his hard-hitting style. He was on the small side for a linebacker ‑ one reason the NFL moved him to safety upon turning professional. But there was nothing small about Archuleta’s tackle numbers. During his senior season, Archuleta racked up 86 unassisted tackles and 119 overall in 2000 to lead the Pac-10, and had at least one tackle for loss in 23 of his final 28 games. Though he was the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year as a senior, Archuleta was so impressive as a junior that one West Coast newspaper named him as the league’s POY that year as well.

From an awards standpoint, Archuleta has been less successful in the NFL than college. But there have been much bigger busts from the 20^th pick on up in pro football than Archuleta. As if an eight-year career and the riches that come with it qualifies as anything close to a bust.

Nick Daschel covers the Pacific-10 Conference for Buster Sports, and can be reached at ndaschel@bustersports.com

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