July 29, 2013; Rochester, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills inside linebacker Kiko Alonso (50) comes off the field during training camp practice at St. John Fisher College. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
When the Bills took Kiko Alonso in this past draft I remember thinking to myself this kid could be the real deal. Alonso coming out of Oregon didn’t play fully in all his four years due to injuries and off field issues but when he did he was a force.
Recent linebackers this team has gone through as of late that to me were disappointments: Paul Posluszny, Kawika Mitchell, Nick Barnett and Kelvin Sheppard. Two of the guys Posluszny and Sheppard were drafted both within the 2nd to 3rd round range and did not contribute much for this team. Posluszny played four years with the Bills but only played one full season. Injuries were common during his time here and didn’t really do much on the field when he wasn’t. Sheppard played two seasons with the Bills before he was traded. In that time he had every opportunity to prove himself and just didn’t make the best of his time. Bad in coverage and sometimes just looked lost on the field. Those two guys I thought were pretty good picks at the time but soon after they began to play you seen it was all for not.
The other two guys were guys that we acquired on the downside of their careers. Both Barnett and Mitchell I believe were retreads that this team didn’t need to get. Guys like this are for teams looking to make a playoff run and that need that stability if one of their players were to go down. It just seemed the Bills got these players to fill the spot but put no thought into the signings.
Now back to Alonso and so far nothing but good things are coming from camp. Covering all areas on the field and filling proper gaps is what you can see if you had the chance to stop by and watch. So far he is showing everything he can in the short amount of time he has been at camp. He will be the one to watch for sure on defense when the Bills scrimmage on Monday night.
Alonso was taken 46th overall in this past draft and that was the highest the Bills took a linebacker since they drafted Posluszny in 2007. This has been a position of need for some time and to why this team waited this long to draft and address this position was a major mistake in my opinion.
I hope as we watch Kiko continue to play and learn at the NFL level he shows what he can do come week 1. As I was saying this team took too long to get their guy but is this guy the right one? Did you like someone else or is Alonso the guy?