New York Giants draft Nebraska defensive back Prince Amukamara with 19th overall pick in NFL draft

BY RALPH VACCHIANO
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER



On the night before the Royal Wedding, the Giants found their Prince.

It seemed like a fairy tale as it was all unfolding, but the Giants ended up with one of the top defensive backs in the NFL draft when Nebraska cornerback Prince Amukamara surprisingly fell into their laps. He was almost universally pegged as a Top 10 selection, but somehow fell all the way to the 19th overall pick.

As it was happening, the Giants' war room was stunned. When he finally reached them, it wasn't a tough call to scrap their pre-draft plans to draft an offensive lineman and take a player Tom Coughlin said "was clearly the highest-rated player (left) on the board."

"This one truly was a shock," said Marc Ross, the Giants' director of college scouting. "You go through scenarios leading up to the draft, where you have somewhat unrealistic scenarios of what could happen. This one was just completely out of left field. We never thought this kid would've been still on the board at 19."

"We never dreamed that he would be there at that point," added Giants GM Jerry Reese. "You get lucky like that sometimes."

The Giants had done their research on the 6-foot, 206-pound corner, but since he never appeared to be a realistic option they didn't bring him in for a visit or work him out. Reese admitted they were a little concerned when he had started to fall, that perhaps they had missed something about him.

In the end, though, the value was so high it out-weighed any worries – even with "need" picks like Boston College tackle Anthony Castonzo and Alabama running back Mark Ingram still on the board.

"No question," Tom Coughlin said. "I mean the value of this pick, where he was ranked, there wasn't any question about the fact this player should be on the New York Giants. At one point there were about four or five players we felt real good about. Then as we got closer, there was Prince."

Before that, the Giants seemed to be eyeing offensive linemen in the weeks leading up to the draft. The one they coveted most was USC tackle Tyron Smith, but as expected he was taken by the Cowboys at No. 9, long before the Giants selected. Another tackle they liked, Colorado's Nate Solder, went to New England at 17. And Florida's Mike Pouncey, the top center on the board, went to Miami at 15.

Not that anyone in the Giants' war room was upset because, as Reese said, "You always need corners." That's especially true in the NFC East where the Giants play twice a year against Philadelphia's speedy duo of DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin and twice against Dallas' dynamic receiver, Dez Bryant.

"I've always felt that way," Coughlin said. "You can never have enough cover guys, because if you watch the way people play today with the additional receivers. The more cover people you have the better off you're going to be."

Amukamara - a descendant of Nigerian royalty, by the way - definitely fits the category of "cover people" even though he had no interceptions last season after totaling five as a junior. He did have 13 pass deflections, though, and the Giants feel he'll fit nicely in a secondary that already features two second-round picks at cornerback (Corey Webster, 2005, and Terrell Thomas, 2008) - and a first-round pick (Aaron Ross, 2007).

"You always need corners, you always need pass rushers," Reese said. "Those two positions are always a need pick. So we're really excited about Prince. Again, we never thought he'd be there."

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Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/giants/2011/04/28/2011-04-28_new_york_giants_draft_nebraska_defensive_back_prince_amukamara_with_19th_overall.html#ixzz1KtAgupFG

We knew It is Ibo man you are campaigning for!!

seanet02:

We knew It is Ibo man you are campaigning for!!

I said Nigerian.

I watched it on ESPN. He's really proud of his Nigerian heritage. I thought he would be drafted in the top 10 though.
Other Nigerians that were drafted include BEN IJALANA from Villanova, SAM ACHO from Texas and CHIMDI CHEKWA from Ohio State.