It is high time that the Buccaneers Kwon Alexander gets some national respect.
In the second half of the 2016 season, the Buccaneers took the NFL by storm. The annual losers decided to change their fortunes and go on a winning streak that put them within a breath of the playoffs. They sport an exciting offense and a stifling defense that has the expectations through the roof as 2017 begins.
Last season, we talked a lot about how the Bucs don’t get the national respect. I often spoke of Jameis Winston and Mike Evans in that regard. On defense, however, there is a player that falls into this category. He has only been in the league for two years, but is well established as the quarterback of the defense and a star for years to come. For anyone who hasn’t figured it out by now, his name is Kwon Alexander.
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Bucs fans know exactly what Alexander can do. They know how good he, along with Lavonte David, performs on a week to week basis. However, the national audience doesn’t pay much attention to Alexander. 145 tackles and three sacks last year didn’t even earn him a trip to the Pro Bowl.
One guy who does get a lot of attention plays for the rival Panthers. He also plays the same position as Kwon. You have probably figured out by now that I am talking about Luke Kuechly. Enough about Kuechly already, am I right?
When you look at the numbers on both of these players, Alexander poses a reasonable comparison to Kuechly. We can only hope that the world finally pays attention to Kwon. Let’s look at the numbers.
First we have Kwon’s numbers:
and now for Kuechly:
| Games | Def Interceptions | Fumbles | Sacks & Tackles | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Age | Tm | Pos | No. | G | GS | Int | Yds | TD | Lng | PD | FF | Fmb | FR | Yds | TD | Sk | Tkl | Ast | Sfty | AV |
| 2012 | 21 | CAR | lb/MLB | 59 | 16 | 16 | 2 | 22 | 0 | 25 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 1.0 | 103 | 62 | 9 | |
| 2013*+ | 22 | CAR | MLB | 59 | 16 | 16 | 4 | 33 | 0 | 30 | 8 | 2.0 | 96 | 70 | 18 | ||||||
| 2014*+ | 23 | CAR | MLB | 59 | 16 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 107 | 64 | 15 | |
| 2015*+ | 24 | CAR | MLB | 59 | 13 | 13 | 4 | 48 | 1 | 32 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 76 | 42 | 15 | |
| 2016* | 25 | CAR | MLB | 59 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 71 | 31 | 10 | |
| Career | 71 | 71 | 12 | 119 | 1 | 32 | 45 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 9.0 | 453 | 269 | 67 |
Now, on its face you see that Kuechly’s numbers are better. It’s not that hard. But, how much better? Over five seasons, Kuechly has averaged 144.4 total tackles per season. Alexander has averaged 119 over his first two years. Lower than Kuechly? Yes. But it isn’t like it’s a lot lower. They are comparable.
Look at Alexander’s rookie year. He posted 93 tackles in just 12 games. Project that out over 16 games and Alexander puts up 116 tackles. Is it the same as Kuechly’s insane 165 tackles in his rookie year? Of course not, but again the comparison between the two can be drawn. In their respective second years, Alexander posted 145 tackles vs. Kuechly with 166. Kwon actually posted more sacks than Kuechly in his second year (3 vs. 2).
Granted, they play in different schemes, but if you compare the two after their first two seasons, Kwon actually had double the amount of sacks (six) to that of Kuechly (three).
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Now, am I saying that Alexander is ready to unseat Kuechly as arguably the top middle linebacker in the league? Not yet. However, there is room on the proverbial Mt. Rushmore for both of these guys. It’s time for Kwon to get the attention, and hopefully this is the year it happens.