When healthy, Kiko Alonso is a defensive force

The Eagles were on the clock with the third pick of the draft's second round in April 2013, and Kiko Alonso remained on the board.

Chip Kelly had the chance to select his former Oregon linebacker, but the Eagles never expected tight end Zach Ertz to fall to them in the second round. So Kelly passed on Alonso and selected Ertz with the No. 35 overall pick and then watched the Buffalo Bills nab Alonso 11 picks later.

"Kiko Alonso was a guy I would have loved to [pick]," Kelly said as he wrapped up that draft. "I coached him, and I think he's an outstanding football player."

With the opportunity to coach Alonso again, Kelly did not let it pass. When the pending trade that sends LeSean McCoy to Buffalo is completed on Tuesday, Alonso will reunite with Kelly at last. The Eagles' coach has not commented on the move.

Much of the attention since the stunning trade has been focused on parting with McCoy, the leading rusher in franchise history. But Philadelphia will quickly learn about Alonso, the 2013 defensive rookie of the year who gives the Eagles one of the league's top young defensive talents - as long as Alonso is healthy.

Alonso, 24, missed all of last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, which he hurt while he was recovering from hip surgery. As a rookie inside linebacker in the Bills' 3-4 defense, Alonso finished with 159 tackles, two sacks, four interceptions, and one forced fumble. The production was similar to that of Carolina's Luke Kuechly, who won defensive player of the year.

He has two years remaining on his rookie contract, which was a four-year deal worth $4.3 million. He will make less than $1 million in each of the next two seasons, with cap numbers of $1.17 million in 2015 and $1.37 million in 2016.

Alonso is a true three-down linebacker. The only inside linebacker to play more than Alonso's 1,176 snaps that season was the Eagles' DeMeco Ryans. The website Pro Football Focus rated Alonso as the second-best inside linebacker in pass coverage, and only one other starter, Miami's Dannell Ellerbe, held quarterbacks to a lower quarterback rating.

"Kiko is a special player," Kelly said in November of Alonso's rookie season. "When you watch him on film, it's Kiko see ball, Kiko tackle ball. We saw that at Oregon a lot. I think people in Buffalo are seeing that right now."

Alonso's size (6-foot-3, 238 pounds) and athleticism stand out, but his defensive instincts could be his biggest strength. He bloomed late in his Oregon career and excelled when he arrived in the NFL.

Alonso was not a top recruit, and he said at the 2013 combine that Oregon and Utah were the only schools that offered him a scholarship out of Los Gatos (Calif.) High School.

His brother, Carlos, is in the Phillies' farm system.

The first half of Alonso's college career was marred - and jeopardized - by legal trouble. In February 2010, he was arrested on a DUI charge and was suspended for one season while he dealt with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. One year later, Alonso was arrested on felony burglary, criminal mischief, and criminal trespass charges.

The burglary charge was dropped, according to a report by the Oregonian in 2013. The newspaper also reported that Alonso pleaded guilty to the criminal mischief charge and entered a diversion program for the criminal trespass charge. He received two years of probation along with 200 hours of community service. Kelly indefinitely suspended Alonso indefinitely.

"They said I can't do that off the field if I want to be on the field," Alonso said at the combine. "So, I had to make a change."

Alonso has not been in trouble since.

Kelly said he saw the change in attitude and reinstated Alonso before the start of the 2011 season. Alonso turned into one of Oregon's top linebackers and was named MVP of the Rose Bowl after collecting five tackles - half of which were for losses - 11/2 sacks, and an interception in a 45-38 win over Wisconsin.

As a senior, Alonso was named second-team all-Pac-12. The transformation turned Alonso into a bona fide prospect and a starter from Day 1 in Buffalo.

"He made a couple missteps early in his career and really changed," Kelly said in November 2013. "I think he understood the opportunities that he has in front of them and everything that is happening to him now - I don't know if it surprises other people, it doesn't surprise me."

Kelly called Alonso a "great student" at Oregon, citing a grade point average that exceeded 3.0. Cleveland Browns coach Mike Pettine, who was Alonso's defensive coordinator in Buffalo, told USA Today in 2013 that Alonso "doesn't talk a lot, but underneath all of it, he's very intelligent. Soaks everything in, and the proof is what happens."

Alonso developed a cult following in Buffalo that season, with a Twitter hashtag devoted to the "Legend of Kiko Alonso" that was similar to the "Cole Hamels Facts" that once became popular in Philadelphia.

"I take extra pride that I had an opportunity to coach Kiko," Kelly said.

Starting next week, he will have the chance to coach Alonso again.