Robert Alford

The Atlanta Falcons also drafted Washington's Desmond Trufant in the first round (22nd overall).

He became the second player from Southeastern Louisiana to play in the Senior Bowl and the first since Ronnie Hornsby in 1979.

Alford also became the second highest selection in Southeastern Louisiana's school history, behind only Calvin Favron who was selected in the second round (46th overall) of the 1979 NFL Draft.

He was the first player drafted from Southeastern Louisiana since Brett Wright in 1984.

Robert Alford (born October 31, 1988) is a former American football cornerback.

He finished second in the 400-meter dash at the 2007 LHSAA Track and Field Championships, with a time of 49.62 seconds.

At the 2008 Region II-5A Championships, he won both the 400 meters, recording a career-best time of 48.68 seconds, and the long jump, setting a personal-best mark of 7.09 meters.

Alford enrolled in Southeastern Louisiana University, where he played for the Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team from 2008 to 2012.

After redshirting in 2008, he started nine of the 10 games in 2009, appearing in at cornerback and finished the season with 46 tackles (35 solo), and was also second on the team with five pass breakups.

He was granted a medical redshirt after missing the 2010 season with an injury.

He was ranked the 10th best cornerback prospect by NFL analyst Mike Mayock and the 11th best cornerback by NFLDraftScout.com.

He returned in 2011 and was named second team All-Southland Conference after establishing himself as one of the conference's elite cornerbacks.

He started all 11 games for the Lions, and finished second in the Southland with five interceptions and fourth in the league with seven pass breakups.

He finished the year with 52 tackles (45 solo), and his five interceptions was the eighth-highest single-season total in school history.

In his final season, he was named first team All-Southland conference after finishing the year with 39 tackles (35 solo), including five for loss, four interceptions and eight pass break ups.

On November 21, 2012, it was announced that Alford had accepted his invitation to play in the 2013 Senior Bowl.

He played college football at Southeastern Louisiana and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Alford was born in Hammond, Louisiana.

He attended Hammond High Magnet School and played high school football and ran track for the Hammond Tornadoes.

He was a first-team all-District 7-5A selection at wide receiver, catching 10 touchdown passes as a senior for the Tors.

He was chosen as the Tors' Rookie of the Year as a sophomore.

In addition to football, Alford was on the Tornadoes' track & field team, where he competed as a sprinter and jumper.

On January 26, 2013, Alford recorded five combined tackles and an interception to help Detroit Lions' head coach Jim Schwartz's South team that defeated the North 21–16.

Alford had an impressive performance that also included an 88-yard kickoff return to start the game and immensely raised his draft stock.

He was one of 60 collegiate defensive backs and 35 cornerbacks to attend the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Alford performed all of the combine drills and finished fourth among all defensive backs in the 40-yard dash.

On March 26, 2013, Alford attended Southeastern Louisiana's pro day, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only performed positional drills as team representatives and scouts from 15 NFL teams attended.

At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Alford was projected to be a second or third round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts.

The Atlanta Falcons selected Alford in the second round (60th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft.

On June 14, 2013, the Atlanta Falcons signed Alford to a four-year, $3.40 million contract that includes $1.07 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $853,744.

Throughout training camp, he competed for a starting cornerback job against Asante Samuel, Desmond Trufant, and Robert McClain.

Head coach Mike Smith named him the third cornerback on the Falcons' depth chart, behind Samuel and Trufant.

He made his professional regular season debut in the Atlanta Falcons' season-opener at the New Orleans Saints and recorded one tackle, two pass deflections, and intercepted the first pass of his career during their 23–17 loss.

He made his first career interception off a pass attempt by quarterback Drew Brees that was intended for receiver Marques Colston at the end of the third quarter.

On November 3, 2013, Alford recorded two combined tackles, deflected a pass, and intercepted a pass by Cam Newton in the Falcons' 34–10 loss at the Carolina Panthers.

After posting a 3-10 season, head coach Mike Smith elected to start Alford at cornerback over Asante Samuel for their Week 14 matchup against the Green Bay Packers.

He made his first career start and recorded five combined tackles and deflected a pass during their 22–21 loss.

The following week, Alford collected a season-high nine combined tackles in Atlanta's 27-26 victory over the Washington Redskins.

He played in all 16 games with four starts as a rookie finishing with 40 combined tackles (28 solo), nine pass deflections, two interceptions, and one forced fumble.

Alford entered the 2014 season slated as the starting cornerback alongside Desmond Trufant.