Adam Jason Archuleta (born November 27, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a safety for seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils, and was selected in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams with the 20th overall pick.
After five seasons with the Rams, Archuleta played a season each for the Washington Redskins and Chicago Bears, and was in camp with the Oakland Raiders in 2008.
High school years
Born in Rock Springs, Wyoming, Archuleta attended Chandler High School in Chandler, Arizona, a suburb southeast of Phoenix. He was a letterman in football in which he was a two-time first-team All-Central Region honoree and a two-time All-State Honorable Mention honoree. Jerry Loper was his high school head football coach.
College career
Archuleta played college football at nearby Arizona State University, where he started three years as a linebacker. Initially without a scholarship, he redshirted as a true freshman in 1996 after making the team as a walk-on.
Archuleta played in every game during his redshirt freshman season in 1997 as a reserve inside linebacker, recording 17 tackles (11 solos) while appearing mostly on special teams.
He moved into the starting lineup as a sophomore at weakside linebacker, playing in every game in 1998 and finished with 75 tackles (39 solos), five sacks and 18 stops for losses. As a junior in 1999, he was named to the All-Pac-10 Conference First Team as well as team most valuable player. He started the final eleven games at weakside outside linebacker and led the team with 111 tackles (59 solos) with five sacks and 21 stops for losses.
As a senior in 2000, he was named the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year and was a First-team All-Pac-10 Conference selection as a linebacker. He also was one of three finalists for the Butkus Award, given annually to the top linebacker in college football. As a senior, he started at weakside outside linebacker and led ASU with a career-high 127 tackles (93 solos) with four sacks and 15 stops for losses. He was a First-team All-America selection by The Sports Xchange and earned Second-team All-American from the Walter Camp Foundation.
During his four year career Archuleta ranks fourth in school history with 54 stops behind the line of scrimmage while recording 330 tackles (202 solos) with 14 quarterback sacks, six fumble recoveries and five forced fumbles.
Professional career
Pre-draft
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams drafted Archuleta as the 20th overall selection in the 2001 NFL Draft. He spent his first five years in St. Louis, where he excelled in Lovie Smith's Cover 2 base defense. He signed a five-year $7 million contract with the Rams, with a signing bonus of $3 million.
In 2001 Archuleta was named to All-rookie teams by The Football News and Pro Football Weekly after playing in 13 games and starting 12 at strong safety. He Finished sixth on the Rams with 81 tackles (43 solo) and tied for second with seven tackles for loss while notching two sacks, five passes defensed, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. In 2002, he started all 16 contests, 15 at strong safety, one at weakside linebacker and he led team with 149 tackles (101 solo) with 2.5 sacks, one interception, four passes defensed, three QB pressures, one fumble recovery, three tackles for loss, and eight special teams tackles. In 2003, he started 13 games at strong safety and had his second consecutive 100-plus tackle season, collecting 101 stops (77 solo) and had five sacks, five tackles for loss, one interception, eight passes defensed, nine QB pressures, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. His Five sacks led all NFL defensive backs in 2003, was the most sacks by an NFL defensive back since 2000. He was also named NFC Defensive Player of the Month for November 2003.