Ah, we all remember it like it was just yesterday. The legend of Kiko Alonso for the Buffalo Bills.
The second-round pick of the Bills burst onto the scene in 2013. That season he had 159 tackles, 11 for loss, two sacks, four passes defended and a forced fumble. What couldn’t Alonso do?
Unfortunately the answer to that is avoid a knee injury, which changed his career, and ultimately helped him land on Pro Football Focus‘ list of “one hit wonders” in the NFL.
Here’s PFF’s breakdown on Alonso:
Alonso’s best season by far came as a rookie back in 2013. He earned an 80.4 overall grade with a 90.1 grade in coverage as the starting middle linebacker for the Bills. A torn ACL the following offseason and then a trade to the Philadelphia Eagles was followed by a string of disappointing play from the Oregon product, though. From 2015 to 2018, Alonso earned PFF grades of 39.3, 61.3, 49.1 and 49.6, struggling particularly in coverage his final few seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He should have another chance at turning things around and recapturing some of that rookie form with the New Orleans Saints next season.
Eventually Alonso did go down as something good for the Bills in the end. Even if it wasn’t on the field. This one-year status helped the Bills land running back LeSean McCoy via trade with the Eagles.
That allowed the legend to continue.
But it actually did continue for one season with the Eagles in 2015, followed by stints with the Dolphins and Alonso’s current team, the Saints.
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