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During the Dolphins’ 10-win season, linebacker Kiko Alonso racked up a team-high 115 tackles. On Tuesday, he was rewarded with a three-year contract extension, which will keep him in Miami through the 2020 season.
According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Alonso’s new deal includes $18.5 million in guarantees and is worth $25 million in all.
Kiko Alonso's deal is a three-year extension for $25m ($18.5m gtd) that tacks on to the $3.9m tender he got this year.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 21, 2017
2016 was Alonso’s first season in Miami after short stints with the Bills and Eagles. For the first time since his rookie season in 2013, Alonso posted a quality stat line. In addition to his 115 tackles, he also recorded two interceptions, a forced fumble, four fumble recoveries and four passes defended.
However, Pro Football Focus wasn’t high on Alonso. PFF graded him as the 45th-best inside linebacker last year, handing him negative grades in pass coverage and run defense.
PFF calculates a statistic called “stop percentage.” Here’s how they explain it:
A player’s impact in the running game is sometimes erroneously based on the total volume of tackles made. However, firstly, does that number include tackles on passing plays and, more importantly, did those tackles really count? Stops constitute a “loss” for the offense so this table shows the percentage of stops per snap played only in run defense.
Alonso ranked 31st in stop percentage among inside linebackers. He did fare better in terms of pass rushing, finishing 13th in pass rushing productivity, which measures “pressure created on a per snap basis with weighting toward sacks.” But he allowed a 107.3 passer rating in coverage.
Of course, PFF is just one tool used to evaluate players. It’s not the definitive tool. All of this just means that Alonso isn’t a perfect inside linebacker. He still has his flaws.
But considering how he lost his entire 2014 season to a knee injury and struggled mightily in 2015, his 2016 season was a positive step forward. At only 26, he could still develop into a better player.
