Pre-draft On November 21, 2012, it was announced that Alford had accepted his invitation to play in the
2013 Senior Bowl. He became the second player from Southeastern Louisiana to play in the
Senior Bowl and the first since Ronnie Hornsby in 1979. 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. He was ranked the 10th best cornerback prospect by NFL analyst
Mike Mayock and the 11th best cornerback by NFLDraftScout.com.
Atlanta Falcons 2013 The
Atlanta Falcons selected Alford in the second round (60th overall) of the
2013 NFL draft. The Atlanta Falcons also drafted
Washington's Desmond Trufant in the first round (22nd overall). He was the first player drafted from Southeastern Louisiana since Brett Wright in
1984. 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. On June 14, 2013, the 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.
2014 Alford entered the 2014 season slated as the starting cornerback alongside Desmond Trufant. On October 19, 2014, Alford recorded two solo tackles, defended two passes, and intercepted
Baltimore Ravens' quarterback
Joe Flacco twice during a 29–7 loss. During a Week 10 matchup at the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he collected a season-high nine combined tackles in a 27–17 victory. The following week, Alford made one tackle before leaving a 19–17 win against the
Carolina Panthers with a broken wrist. On December 14, 2014, the Atlanta Falcons placed him on injured reserve after it he underwent surgery and it became apparent he wouldn't be able to return during the season. He finished the season with 36 combined tackles, three interceptions, and 11 pass deflections in ten games and ten starts.
2015 Throughout his first training camp under new head coach
Dan Quinn, Alford competed to maintain his role as starting cornerback against
Akeem King, rookie
Jalen Collins, and
Phillip Adams. He was named the starting cornerback, opposite Desmond Trufant, to start the regular season. On October 11, 2015, Alford recorded one tackle, two pass deflections, intercepted
Washington Redskins' quarterback
Kirk Cousins twice, and returned one for a touchdown during the Falcons' 25–19 victory. He intercepted Cousins' pass on the last play of the game and returned it for a 59-yard game-winning touchdown, marking the first touchdown and pick six of his career. Alford missed the Falcons' Week 9 matchup against the
San Francisco 49ers after suffering a
groin injury. In Week 17, he collected a season-high eight solo tackles in the Falcons' 20–17 loss to the
New Orleans Saints. He completed the season with a total of 53 combined tackles (45 solo), 15 passes defensed and two interceptions, and a touchdown in 15 games and 15 starts.
2016 in
Super Bowl LI Head coach Dan Quinn named Alford and
Desmond Trufant the Falcons' starting cornerback duo to start the regular season. He started the
Atlanta Falcons' season-opener against the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers and made five combined tackles and deflected two passes during their 31–24 loss. In Week 3, he collected a season-high eight combined tackles and deflected a pass in Atlanta's 45–32 win against the
New Orleans Saints. On October 2, 2016, Alford recorded three solo tackles, defended three passes, intercepted two passes, and returned one for a touchdown in the Falcons' 48–33 victory over the
Carolina Panthers. He returned his second interception off Cam Newton for a 30-yard touchdown, marking the second pick-six of his career. Alford finished the season with 61 combined tackles (50 solo), 19 pass deflections, two interceptions, and a touchdown in 16 games and 16 starts. On December 8, 2016, the Atlanta Falcons signed Alford to a four-year, $38 million contract extension that includes $12 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $3 million. The
Atlanta Falcons finished first atop the
NFC South with an 11–5 record and received a playoff berth. On January 14, 2017, Alford started his first career playoff game and recorded five solo tackles in the Falcons' 36–20 victory over the
Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Divisional Round. The Atlanta Falcons went on to defeat the
Green Bay Packers in the
NFC Championship 44–21 and went on to
Super Bowl LI. On February 5, 2017, Alford recorded 11 combined tackles, an interception, fumble recovery, and touchdown as the Falcons lost to the
New England Patriots 34–28 in overtime. His touchdown came off an 82-yard return after intercepting quarterback
Tom Brady in the second quarter. Alford was involved in a notable play with Patriots wide receiver
Julian Edelman, who completed a very difficult catch off of Alford's shoe. Alford deflected Brady's throw into the air behind him, and
Keanu Neal and
Ricardo Allen merged on the ball to try an intercept it or knock it down. The ball bounced off Alford's left leg and almost into the turf, but Edelman caught it mere centimeters off the ground. This play set up the Patriots on the Falcons side of the field and allowed them to continue the eventual game-tying drive.
2017 Alford was named the starting cornerback, along with Desmond Trufant, for the fourth consecutive season. On November 20, 2017, Alford recorded a career-high ten combined tackles and deflected three passes in a 34–31 victory at the
Seattle Seahawks. On December 31, 2017, he collected two solo tackles, made a career-high four pass deflections, and intercepted a pass attempt by
Cam Newton during their 22–10 victory. Alford finished the season with a career-high 68 combined tackles (60 solo), a career-high 20 pass deflections, and an interception in 16 games and 16 starts.
2018 Alford returned in 2018 as a starting cornerback alongside Desmond Trufant. He started 15 games, finishing with 50 combined tackles and was second on the team with 11 passes defensed. On February 5, 2019, Alford was released by the Falcons after six seasons.
Arizona Cardinals On February 7, 2019, Alford signed a three-year, $22.5 million contract with the
Arizona Cardinals. On August 31, 2019, he was placed on injured reserve with a broken leg. On August 17, 2020, Alford tore his pectoral muscle and was ruled out for the 2020 season. He was placed on injured reserve on August 21. He was placed on the reserve/
COVID-19 list by the team on December 21, 2020, and moved back to injured reserve on December 28. Alford was released after the 2020 season on March 10, 2021, and re-signed to a one-year contract two days later. Alford entered the 2021 season third on the Cardinals cornerback depth chart behind
Byron Murphy and rookie
Marco Wilson. He suffered a pectoral injury in Week 14 and was placed on injured reserve on December 18. He finished the season with 37 tackles, four passes defensed, and one interception through 13 games and five starts. ==NFL career statistics==