Adrian Wilson

The 33-year-old Wilson, who recorded 54 tackles and three sacks in 15 games for Arizona last season, was placed on IR by the Patriots.

Wilson was a non-factor as an IDP last year, finishing the season with just 65 tackles (48 solo) and an interception. He gets a big-time mulligan, though, because he played 16 games with a torn biceps, an injury that would knock most players out for at least a significant portion of the year. In the three years prior to 2011 he averaged 79 tackles (66 solo), two sacks and three interceptions per season.

As Wilson heads into his 11th season with the Cardinals, he remains one of the league's solid strong safeties, though not quite the player he once was. Wilson hasn't reached 90 tackles since 2005, and he has totaled just two interceptions in three of the last four seasons. Still, he made 88 tackles (76 solo) last year even while playing through a torn abductor muscle in his hip for much of the season. Hopefully a return to full health will allow Wilson to finish his age-32 season with a bang.

Wilson had a nice 2009 campaign, earning a trip to his second career Pro Bowl on the strength of a career-high five interceptions along with 74 tackles (61 solo), two sacks and a forced fumble. Even if his days as the consensus top IDP safety are through, Wilson is still an excellent option in leagues that require the use of one. In nickel and dime packages, he'll continue to lineup closer to the line of scrimmage, making him a threat for sacks while Matt Ware drops into coverage.

By Wilson's standards, 2008 was a decent year. He made 75 tackles, 2.5 sacks and two interceptions in 15 regular-season games. He will turn 30 in October and he’s probably slightly past his prime. Still, there's a lot to like about Wilson. We're encouraged that the Cardinals are letting him return to his roots as a blitzer. He recorded eight sacks (an NFL record for a defensive back) in 2005 and five in 2006, but from Week 1 of 2007 through Week 8 of 2008, Wilson had zero sacks and few opportunities. Since then, he has 4.5 sacks in 12 games (including four playoff contests). Wilson is a well-rounded player who should be among the NFL's top safeties this season. The Cardinals rewarded him accordingly with a five-year, $39 million contract extension in June.

A ruptured Achilles' tendon limited the usually durable Wilson to only nine games in 2007. He was reasonably productive (44 tackles, two interceptions), but surprisingly was held without a sack just two seasons after he set the NFL single-season record for sacks by a defensive back (eight). Wilson was expected to be used in the box, similar to the blitz-happy schemes of former coach Dennis Green, but instead typically dropped into coverage under new head coach Ken Whisenhunt. Assuming Wilson stays healthy, look for more solid contributions in tackles and interceptions this season, but don’t expect a high sack total if he continues to be used more in coverage than in blitzes. Wilson has dropped a bit from his monstrous 2004, 2005 and 2006 seasons, but he's still a Pro Bowl candidate.

For the second year in a row, Wilson enters the season as the top-ranked defensive back, partially because he's not built like one. At 230 pounds, he's as big as most weak side linebackers and, boy, does he hit like them. Wilson explodes through ball carriers, has speed in pursuit and makes things very physical. He's picked off four passes twice in his career, but more than one or two is fluky because his change-of-direction skills in coverage aren't the greatest. What isn't fluky is his ability to reach quarterbacks. Wilson set a defensive back record with eight sacks in 2005 and tacked on five more last season even though coach Dennis Green limited blitzes. New coach Ken Whisenhunt made a point of emphasizing that Wilson will be blitzed heavily this year, so expect Wilson to challenge his own record. He'll likely also rebound for 100 total tackles after a down year last season of 82. With the position’s premiere skills at tackling and sacking, Wilson is consistently reliable. Even if his coverage skills aren't the best for a strong safety, Wilson's value is in the box, and that's exactly where the team is going to place him this year.

So long as Arizona fields holes in its front seven and has relatively weak linebackers, Wilson will reap the spoils. At 6-3, 230, he’s got a linebacker’s body (Keith Bulluck isn’t much bigger) but oddly would be exposed with a move there. He lacks the evasiveness and speed at his size to be effective even on the weak side as a linebacker, but as a safety faces less blocking and can keep the game in front of him. In part due to his high motor and size at safety, he’s led the team in tackles two years running and set an NFL record last year for sacks from the secondary. When he does make plays in coverage (he’s had years with three and four picks) it is nonetheless due to athleticism and aggression, not any particularly notable skills in coverage. So long as he’s in a zone and not man-to-man, those picks likely will continue. Wilson has increased his tackle stats every year in the league to such an elite position that he produced four fantasy points or more in every game last year. And he did it in 15 games, essentially taking a meaningless Week 17 tilt off. What’s more, the Arizona defense spent the fewest plays on the field of any team in the NFL. Wilson may be a surprise to top this list on name recognition, but the numbers don’t lie.

Wilson, like Archuleta, is another linebacker in a safety’s body. He loves inching up to the line of scrimmage to play run support or rush. Not gifted at changing directions, his plays in coverage come not via technique but athleticism. Nonetheless, he has had eight passes defended two years running. With the Cardinals once again not stacked at linebacker, Wilson could see another strong season. Only once last year did he scored fewer than four fantasy points in a game.

Wilson, the incumbent strong safety, started 15 games in 2003 recording 54 solo tackles, 18 assists, and seven deflections. He’s not upper-tier at the position but few in the Cardinals are likely to displace the four-year pro.

Wilson had 66 solo tackles, 1.5 sacks and four interceptions in just 14 games last season as the Cardinals strong safety. With the Cardinals' front seven likely to have another tough season, and free safety Kwame Lassiter unlikley to be re-signed, expect to see Wilson bringing down a lot of running backs in the defensive backfield this season.