Tuesday night the Philadelphia Eagles pulled off a stunning trade, acquiring standout linebacker Kiko Alonso from the Buffalo Bills in exchange for Pro Bowl running back LeSean McCoy. While the trade was major news in terms of shifting the NFL's landscape, and particularly the AFC East's, it will have a big impact on the fantasy football community as well.
How will LeSean McCoy fare up in Buffalo, and what will Alonso's arrival in Philadelphia mean for their defense and special teams?
Breaking Down What The Trade Means For McCoy's Value
McCoy has consistently been a first round pick, especially in the past two seasons with Chip Kelly's run-heavy offense. In fact, heading into 2014 McCoy was one of the obvious options as the No. 1 overall choice. He was disappointing for most of the year though. His overall stat line isn't oppressively bad-1,319 yards, five touchdowns, 1,474 yards from scrimmage-but the production was erratic on a weekly basis.
Kelly's system is favorable for running backs, and it appears from the stats that McCoy's struggles were largely on him. Philadelphia's offensive line ranked first in the NFL in power success per FootballOutsiders.com, a metric that measures a team's success in short-yardage situations on third and fourth down. That doesn't jibe with their ranking of 29th in stuffed rank, which measures how often a team is stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage.
McCoy had a frustrating habit last season of dancing behind the line in pursuit of game-breaking runs rather than hitting the holes right away and taking what's there. Some of those awful games can't be put on Philly's O-line.
In Buffalo, McCoy looks like he'll be running behind a front five of similar ability to Philadelphia's. FootballOutsiders didn't rank their line very high, but it was dragged down by their No. 31 ranking in 2nd-level yards. That has a lot to do with the lack of elusiveness offered by Fred Jackson, their primary back, and the injuries that hampered his more explosive backfield mate C.J. Spiller.
McCoy should be able to improve that performance drastically, and in Buffalo with Rex Ryan as his coach and no quarterback to write home about, he should still be treated as a first round choice. No. 1 overall is probably not the smartest move, but mid-to-late first round is where he still belongs.
Breaking Down What the Trade Means For Philadelphia And Buffalo D/ST Value
This trade will be a gross loss for Philadelphia to casual fans, as inside linebackers don't get much play in the media. Alonso also didn't play last season after tearing his ACL , but in 2013 he had a hand in 231 tackles, recorded two sacks, and even picked off four passes as a rookie. He also played for Eagles coach Chip Kelly in college at Oregon, so there will be a level of familiarity.
Buffalo's D/ST value will remain near the top. Alonso didn't play a down for them last year and they were still one of the NFL's top defenses. Philadelphia's was shakier at times, and while Alonso doesn't move the needle much in terms of sacks, he will shore up Philly's run defense and put opposing offenses in more third-and-long situations for the defensive playmakers to have an impact.
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