Name: CB Prince Amukamara
School: Nebraska
Size: 6'0, 206 lbs
Expected Round: 1st
40 Time: 4.38s
Career Stats: Click Here.
Player Previews: CBS; Walter Football; NFL Combinee [If you would like your website included, please e-mail me!]
Strengths: Willing to help attack the run. Able to sit in the pocket of receivers on in and out routes. Doesn't really bite on play action plays. Quick reactions to close on the pass. Talented enough to play in the NFL, dominated against the weaker college competition. Has all the physical qualities needed in an NFL cornerback. Tackles immediately after the reception.
Weaknesses: Struggles to disengage from blockers. Not a wrap-up body tackler, but will throw his body at his target and either go for the legs, or hope he knocks down his target. Struggles to defend the deep go route against quarterbacks with a strong arm. Struggles to defend the hitch route. Struggles to defend the slant against quarterbacks with quick arms. Called for pass interference because he gets too physical/gets beat. Struggled against the stronger college competition. Allows a lot of completions. Gets beat by head fakes of wide receivers.
Why and Why Not the Patriots after the jump, and my final verdict!
Why the Patriots?: Amukamara has a chance to drop out of the top 10 and, potentially, to the middle of the first round. Touted as an elite prospect, Amukamara could give the Patriots one of the elite secondaries in the league. He has the upside of a #1 corner who, alongside Devin McCourty, could shut down all defenses all day. He tackles immediately after the completion, which is good to prevent YAC.
Why Not the Patriots?: A lot of reasons. He'd have to be the first pick of the draft, which is a high price for a low need position. He struggles against slants, which pretty much eliminates him from playing in the slot. If you watch his tape (lots of videos below), he gets beat on slants in every game, which will definitely be abused in the NFL. He gets called for a lot of penalties. He's not a consistent wrap-up body tackler. He was abused by the top talent he faced (Justin Blackmon took his lunch money).
Verdict: I'm not as high on Amukamara as most others. It's clear that he'll get a shot in the NFL because he completely dominated the weaker talent in college. However, he didn't have the same success against NFL caliber players, which makes me worried. He has many flaws in his game which are pretty obvious and will be taken advantage of by NFL coordinators. He's a coachable player, but I would say that Jimmy Smith has better upside, as well as immediate skill.