STRENGTHS - Alonso is an outstanding athlete with the speed and power to play any LB position in any scheme. He has the range to make plays on the opposite boundary and takes strong angles to the POA. He is agile and explosive in space, allowing him to change directions effectively and recover in coverage and off play-action. He is physical in coverage and does a solid job of keeping plays in front of him. Alonso was also a productive player on coverage units at Oregon.
WEAKNESSES - Alonso is not a consistent finisher because he tends to either overrun plays or leave his feet and whiff on tackles. On run plays he tends to take false steps off the snap which can result in him losing gap integrity. He also tends to be a beat late reading inside runs, which gives blockers time to get on top of him off the POA. When blockers get into him he does not use his hands effectively to protect his frame and shed blockers, and also struggles to identify and defeat cut blocks.
SUMMARY - From a purely athletic standpoint, Kiko Alonso might be one of the top defensive prospects in this draft class. He has sideline to sideline speed and is extremely fluid and agile operation in space. He demonstrates an explosive first step, which allows him to close on plays in front of him in a hurry and take aggressive angles of pursuit. While he shows good instincts in coverage he is not the same productive, aggressive player on runs inside. Went sent on run blitzes he excels at blowing up blockers at the POA, but when asked to read and react he tends to be a beat late and struggles to defeat blockers because he is not physical with his hands. He also needs to improve his tackling considerably, as he misses too many in the open field for a player with his agility and COD skills. Teams are certain to ask him about his two arrests early on during his college career, but the bottom line is he has kept himself out of legal trouble the past two years and possesses and athletic skill set and versatility that few at his position do. While I am somewhat cautious because of his questionable instincts against the run, I would not be surprised to see a team like Baltimore jump at the opportunity to take Alonso in the first round.