Didinger: Kiko Alonso 'A Lot Like Luke Kuechly'
By Matt Leon
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- The Eagles surprised a lot of people when news broke last night they were set to trade star running back to Buffalo for linebacker Kiko Alonso.
You can count Sportsradio's WIP's Ray Didinger in that group.
"I was surprised," Didinger tells KYW Newsradio. "I mean I think everybody knew that with LeSean's McCoy's salary, and what he what was promised and what he was owed over the next couple of years, there was always the chance he could moved to clear some salary cap space. I mean there was always that possibility. But to say that you weren't surprised that it went down, and went down in this fashion, that certainly wasn't the case with me."
Listen: Ray Didinger with KYW's Matt Leon
McCoy rushed for 1,319 yards last season for the Eagles and he is the all-time leading rusher in franchise history.
As for Kiko Alonso, he is a (surprise!) Oregon product who was drafted in the 2nd round in 2013. His rookie season was an outstanding one for Buffalo as he finished with 159 tackles, 4 interceptions and 2 sacks. But he missed all of last season with a torn ACL in his knee.
When he is healthy, Didinger says he is a very good player.
"He's got size," Didinger says. "He's got tremendous speed. He ran a 4.74 forty when they timed him before the draft, which is one of the reasons why his stock was so high. He's a great combination of being instinctive and physical at the point of attack but with great range, great speed and great anticipation so he's able to cover. There really isn't much that he can't do at the inside linebacker position. The best comparison I would make is he is very much like (Carolina Panthers star) Luke Kuechly, who I think most people would regard right now as probably the best inside linebacker in football. He's a lot like Kuechly, but probably a little faster."
Alonso was a second round pick of the Bills in 2013.
You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.