Buchanon played college football at the University of Miami. During his junior year, he earned All-American honors as a returner and was a finalist for the Mosi Tatupu Award. He finished his career with 88 tackles and seven interceptions on defense, and 32 punt returns for 477 yards and two touchdowns as a returner. At the NFL Combine he ran a 4.31 40-yard dash, tied for the fastest time in 2002.
Professional career
Oakland Raiders
Buchanon was drafted by the Oakland Raiders 17th overall in the 2002 NFL Draft. He spent three seasons with the Raiders recording 122 tackles and 11 interceptions.
Houston Texans
On April 25, 2005 the Raiders traded Buchanon to the Houston Texans for a second and third round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. He spent two years in Houston playing in 14 games, recording 37 tackles. He played four games for the Texans in 2006 before being released on October 16, 2006.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Buchanon signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 17, 2006. He finished the 2006 season with the Bucs recording 24 tackles and intercepting two passes. During 2007, he took over as the Bucs starting cornerback alongside Ronde Barber due to Brian Kelly's struggles with injury.
Detroit Lions
Buchanon was signed by the Detroit Lions on March 4, 2009 to help the secondary after the 2008 season. He played in 13 games for the Lions recording 43 tackles, a sack, and 4 passes defended. He was released on March 4, 2010.
Washington Redskins
Buchanon signed with the Washington Redskins on March 29, 2010. After re-signing with the Redskins for the 2011 season, Buchanon was suspended by the team for four games for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy. After his suspension ended, Buchanon was added to 53-man roster after rookie Brandyn Thompson was waived and added to the Redskins' practice squad. On November 5, 2011, Buchanon was placed on injured reserve having played in only one game the entire season in Week 7 against the Carolina Panthers.
Buchanon is the cousin of former Tennessee Titansdefensive endJevon Kearse. He was offered a $500,000 contract by the Cincinnati Reds to play baseball but ultimately decided to play football instead. In Buchanon's book New Money: Staying Rich he describes the money troubles common among young athletes who come into sudden wealth. Among other anecdotes he describes how his mother demanded a million dollars from him as compensation for raising him, after he was drafted by the Oakland Raiders with a $4.9 million signing bonus. He refused to pay the cash to her, noting among other objections: "If you do the math, one million dollars divided by 18 years of raising me was approximately $55,555.55 a year in restitution," an amount he considered excessive. He instead bought her an upscale home to occupy and paid the house's mortgage and maintenance costs; she used his childhood home as a rental property. After seven years he realized the new home's upkeep was more than he could afford, and Buchanon offered his mother a choice: he would either pay her a lump-sum, or buy a smaller house outright with no mortgage for her and his younger siblings to occupy. He reported that she took the cash and moved back to his childhood home, only to eventually lose it to foreclosure. In 2016, Buchanon launched a board game, New Money: Staying Rich, designed to teach principles of financial literacy and management.
