The Eagles would have taken just about anyone in return for running back LeSean McCoy, according to Bleacher Report's Michael Schottey. If you ask the Pro Football Writers of America, the Eagles got the 2013 Defensive Rookie of the Year.Kiko Alonso, drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the 2013 draft, exploded onto the field with 87 tackles, 72 assists, four interceptions, five passes defensed and two sacks. He was Pro Football Focus' ninth-rated inside linebacker in 2013 and looked set to quarterback new head coach Doug Marrone's defense for years to come.But in the NFL, no matter how good you are today, you can be put out with tomorrow's trash.Fast-forward a season, one Alonso missed while rehabbing a torn ACL, and the Bills have a new head coach, new defensive approach and new star running back. Rex Ryan deemed Alonso a movable piece, and now Alonso's moving to Philadelphia, as reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter and Mike Rodak.As Bill Barnwell of Grantland wrote, "Itfeels like a deal where the Philadelphia organization decided it was time to move on from its star running back and found Alonso to be the best option available."Assuming he's back at full speed, Alonso is anything but trash. In fact, the Eagles may have just dusted off a treasure.The connection between Alonso and Eagles head coach Chip Kelly is obvious. Alonso starred under Kelly at the University of Oregon. Athleticism was the hallmark of Kelly's Ducks out west, and increasingly it's the trademark of his Eagles team as well.Alonso's athleticism, especially his lateral quickness, gives him a huge edge when prowling the middle of the field. It's one of the reasons why he's so excellent in coverage: He can stay with tight ends and slot receivers dragging across the middle of the field; he can fly out to the sidelines to track down sweeping, flaring running backs; he can backpedal and get the depth to snag intermediate passes out of the air.It's no surprise Alonso earned PFF's second-best coverage grade of any 2013 inside linebacker.There are lots of great quick-twitch athletes, however, who aren't great in coverage. Alonso's vision, aggression and football IQ help him convert that physical talent into production.Let's take a look at a play from the 2013 Week 2 game versus the Carolina Panthers:The Bills are in nickel personnel, playing what looks like Cover 2. Alonso, circled in red, will end up taking the slot receiver, whose deep corner route is in orange. At the snap, Alonso's man releases inside and then turns back up the seam:Alonso cheats over to him but seems to realize right away his receiver's going deep (and, therefore, will be the safety's responsibility). He barely attacks his man at all:Instead, Alonso keeps cheating toward the outside receiver.Why'Alonso likely recognized the triangle stretch concept the Panthers were running, as detailed by Chris Brown at SmartFootball.com. Knowing his man is going deep, Alonso didn't have to worry about himand knowing the outside receiver was going to curl inside, he knew he could make a play. From the end zone, note that Alonso stops reading the quarterback and starts reading that outside receiver:This is not the textbook way of doing things. Taking his eyes off the quarterback and playing the receiver was a specific knock on Alonso, per the scouting staff at NFL.com. However, just as Alonso commits to jumping the curl route, he looks back at Panthers quarterback Cam Newtonand Alonso sees exactly what he's hoping to see: Newton throwing the curl:Alonso speeds up, sees the ball into his hands and secures the interception, his preparation, instincts and aggression paying off.Sometimes, that aggression gets him into trouble. He can commit too early in coverage, be baited by a savvy passer's look-off or over-pursue in the run game. On tape, Alonso can occasionally be seen hitting the brakes and scrambling to recover once he realizes he's been had. NFL.com's scouts blamed this on a lack of athleticism, but it's more accurately described as a lack of patience. This is a wrinkle his game experience will help iron out.However, at 6'3" and 238 pounds, Alonso is a little on the small side for an inside linebacker; this impacts the way he defends the run.Like a smaller Brian Urlacher, Alonso can hunt down ball-carriers from sideline to sideline like a cheetah running down an antelopebut he doesn't often blow through the hole for a big tackle for loss.He struggles to shed pulling guards and lead blockers in the hole, too. His high motor and relentless effort ensure he's often in the mix on run plays, but his nearly 1-1 solo tackle-to-assist ratio proves this issue.A natural comparison might be the Detroit Lions' DeAndre Levywhich is why Bills general manager Doug Whaley announced almost exactly a year ago that Alonso would play weak-side linebacker in then-new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz's 2014 defense.Levy spent much of the 2014 season as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate in Detroit, while Alonso spent it on the shelf.In Philadelphia, Alonso will be switching to Bill Davis' 3-4. Again, Alonso is small for a traditional 3-4 inside linebacker; he'll be relying on the Eagles' two-gap defensive linemen to soak up blocks so he can fly up and make tackles. When it comes to pass rush,Alonso is a willing, if not especially effective, blitzer. This, again, is something time and technique may improve given his athletic talent and relentless motor.In 2015, Alonso will probably spend much of his time in coverage, to which he's much better suited than inside linebacker DeMeco Ryans, who may be on his way out of Philadelphia. There, Alonso will provide much-needed playmaking ability to the middle of the Eagles defense.Though safety Malcolm Jenkins and a talented cast of edge-rushers helped the Eagles force a sixth-ranked 28 turnovers in 2014, poor corner play and coverage struggles from Ryans and Mychal Kendricks made intermediate passes easy-peasy for opposing quarterbacks. The Eagles finished 31st in passing yardage allowed in 2014. Alonso's field-blanketing coverage and ball-hawking ability should help them improve dramatically in 2015.Given Alonso's one year of experience in a different system on a different team, and coming off his second ACL repair, Eagles fans might be more upset about losing McCoy than happy about gaining Alonso. But it's no stretch to say a healthy Alonso could make a much bigger impact on the Eagles than McCoy did in 2014and every time Kelly has bet on himself, he's won big.
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