With free agency still up in the air, it is starting to become a reality that the Eagles may be forced to address the cornerback situation through the draft.
If that is the case, the name of a potential player the Eagles could be targeting has surfaced. Prince Amukamara, a cornerback out of Nebraska, has been mentioned as a player the Eagles may be interested in.
While rumors of a team’s interest in a prospect fly like crazy this time of year, Amukamara is the type of player that could start on this defense from Week 1.
Amukamara is ranked 9th overall on ESPN, and as the 2nd best cornerback in the draft. Amukamara stands tall at 6’0 with long arms, and ran a 40 time of 4.43 seconds. That is only .15 seconds slower then the fastest time at the combine.
Scouts list his natural instincts as Amukamara’s best quality, and praise his ability to force a receiver off of his route. This style of play could be music to new Defensive Coordinator Juan Castillo’s ears, as he wants to play a more aggressive style of defense. Too many times last season the receivers were able to come off of the line clean because of Dmitri Patterson and Asante Samuel. This was particularly a problem in the red zone for the Birds.
A red flag to me on Amukamara is his lack of interceptions. He had only 5 in all four seasons at Nebraska, with all of them coming his junior season. It could be that opposing offenses stayed away from him during his senior season. But while he has great instincts, scouts mention that he has some problem recognizing routes and anticipating routes.
This is probably the real reason he forced no turnovers last year. Interceptions happen from recognizing routes and jumping them. This would go down as a major red flag in my book.
ESPN also praises Amukamara’s play against the run, crediting his solid tackling as a major reason he is so effective against it.
Right now, Amukamara is projected to go in the top 10. The Eagles would have to move up to get him, but I do not see him going in the top 10. The Eagles could get into the top ten if the bidding war for Kevin Kolb really heats up. The teams in the top ten that could be potential landing spots for Kolb would be Arizona (5) and Tennessee (8).
Personally, I only think the Eagles make a move into the top 10 if Nick Fairley or Patrick Peterson begin to drop- I don’t see them moving up to get Amukamara.
Whether the Eagles will move up to get Amukamara, or if when free agency begins they sign Nmandi Asomugha, one thing is clear from the rumors this off season- that cornerback is a priority for the team.
It really has to be #1
Great kid with high character. Changed from running back to cornerback at Nebraska and is already a stud. A very high ceiling.
This just made me think. If the Eagles Sign Prince A. And if the rumors are true that they are trying to sign asomugha where does this leave asante samuel? I mean he did turn 30 in January and is to make 5.3 Million this year and 8.4 Million next year. Come 2013 this team may have a whole new look in both players and coaching (pending Mike Vicks performance in 2011)
A couple of things Paulman believes
#1) Eagles are not going to Sign CB Asmogaoh
#2) Eagles are not moving up to Draft CB Prince/Peterson
#3) Eagles will Draft CB Davon House in the 2nd Round if available or target a couple of CB’s in the 3rd/4th Rounds like Korey LIndsey,Shareece Wright,Buster Skiner,Cortez Allen,Jalil Brown…
LSU Peterson will be a top #5/#7 Pick
Nebraska’s Prince won’t fall past the Cowboys at #9
Okay follow me guys I woke up thinking about this possible scenario. If the eagles sign Nnamdi they will not spend a first round pick on a cornerback and I ll tell you why, because they already invested enough in corner. A yr ago they used a 3rd round pick on lindley and they seem to like the kid, they already have asante who they spent big money on a few yrs ago and if they sign nnamdi any more money and picks put towards corner wounldnt be wise because there are other positions of need on this team like DT and LB and ever SS.
So if the eagles sign Nnamdi don’t expect them to draft a corner with that 1st pick they’ll use it on a another position, id be shocked if they use it on corner after signing Nnamdi, drafted lindley in 3rd round lastyr and signed asante to a big contract a few yrs back, but this will only play out if the sign Nnamdi
I agree EBG,
If Eagles SIgn Asmo, they won’t draft another CB until the late rounds since they won’t need one.. They Drafted Lindley in the 4th Round last year and still
would have back-ups in Patterson and Hanson
I don’t expect the Eagles to Sign Asmogoah or Draft a CB in the 1st Round at all (the CB class is not that deep after the 1st 3 come off the board..(Peterson,Prince,J Smith) The difference of quality from the 2nd Tier thru the 4th Tier of CB’s and who you can draft from the 2nd Round thru the 4th Round is marginal and not that significant.. After the top #3 CB’s,
the next 12-15 CB are all good players with potential but will need a year or 2 of grooming to make an impact like most Rookies
Paulman, that’s right lindley was a 4th round pick they drafted Teo in the 3rd, let’s hope Tea pays off too, but I like lindleys size and range. He has pretty good speed, honestly in this yrs draft lindley would probably be a 1st or 2nd round pick being that as you mentioned this draft isn’t deep at corner.
Jimmy Smith is the Same player and better athlete and if Detroit dosnt taken him will be there at 23 this draft will be the same as when they drafted Shepherd Brown and Lewis this draft deep with SB talent
I believe that the eagles are either going to break the bank on Namdi or use that first pick on a CB. The eagles hold the cb in high regard and know how important it is in their aggressive philosophy. Look at the teams that have taken us deep into the playoffs. Each year we had two very good CB’s. This team with Mike Vick at QB realistically has a 3 year window and howie roseman is willing to make whatever moves necessary to take us there. To think that the eagles won’t greatly improve the RCB is just dumb. My prediction is Kolb gets moved for a pick in the top half of the first round, and from there we move up to take either prince or peterson depending on how the draft unfolds. With our pick at 23 we go pouncey or carimi and just like that we filled our 2 biggest holes from last year and still have the rest of the draft for depth and possible diamonds in the rough (chaney, coleman).
I think the Eagles have to address cornerback, and will sign Nnamdi, or move up to #5 if Arizona is dumb enough to make that trade. However, why not sign sign Nnamdi, draft Patrick Peterson and play Peterson at safety and some nickel for 2 or 3 years until we get rid of Asante. Imagine that secondary with Nate Allen.
Knowing the birds though, even if we get # 5 overall, we will draft Prince or Jimmy Smith while Patrick Peterson is still on the board..
With today’s pass-happy offenses that all have 3-4 Good WR’s and 2-3 good TE’s on almost every teams Roster, A serious playoff team needs about 3-4 quality CB’s and the eagles could definitely need 1 or 2 either by Free-agency or by the Draft or a combination of both…
I look at 2nd Tier CB’s who can be very good in a year or 2
Brandon Harris – Miami 5-11 195lbs (Projects late 1st Rd to early 2nd Rd)
Aaron WIlliams – Texas 6-1 195 lbs (Projects a mid-late 2nd Rounder)
Curtis Brown – Texas 6-0 185lbs (projects a mid-late 2nd/early 3rd Rounder)
Ras I Dowling – Virginia 6-2 200lbs (Projects late 2nd to Mid 3rd Rounder)
Johny Patrick – Louisville 5-11 190lbs (Projects late 2nd/3rd Rounder)
now the best of the rest
#1) Davon House – New Mexico 6-0 190lbs (Projects 2nd Round)
#2) Brandon Burton – Utah 6-0 185lbs (Projects late 2nd Round)
#3) Korey Lindsey – Southern Ill 5-10 185lbs (Projects 3rd Round)
#4) Shareece Wright – USC 5-11 185lbs (Projects 3rd Round)
#5) Curtis Marsh – Utah State 6-0 195lbs (Projects 3rd Round)
#6) Jalil Brown – Colorado 6-0 205lbs (Projects 4th Round)
#7) Chris Rucker – Mish State 6-2 200lbs (Projects 4th Round)
#8) Buster Skrine – Chattanooga 5-10 185lbs (Projects 5th/6th Round)
#9) Cortez Allen – Citadel 6-2 200lbs (Projects 5th/6th Round
#10) Jason Teague – TCU 6-2 200lbs (Projects 5th/6th Round)
Paulman,
We need playes who can step in now. We know that the draft is hit or miss. We have a lot of players who are very solid on defense, but we need IMPACT players like Nnamdi, Patrick Peterson, Marcellus Dareus, or possibly Fairley. Look at GB with Woodson, Matthews, Raji, and Jenkins, and then surrounding them with very solid players like Hawk, Trumant Williams, Sam Shields etc.
It would be nice to get some impact Defensive players this Draft, but unfortunately, they will mostly be gone by the Top 10-12 picks or so and the Eagles have the #23 Pick, so how do they jump up 15 spots with anyone..
To Expect more than 2 players drafted to step in and contribute right away and be impact players from this Draft Class based on where the Eagles select is unrealistic..
Muimuiman, we can’t compare ourselves to the packers for this simple fact. How many years have the packers picked in the top 15 in the draft the last 5-7 yrs? I feel they draft much better than us but they built that team from scratch and that team wasn’t always in the playoffs each yr like the eagles. The packers have had many losing seasons and had the luxury of picking high and not missing on there picks.
Also wherever the packers pick they don’t miss. They have a great organzation from top to bottom, great player scouts great coaches
Paulman,
I don’t think it is that unrealistic. This eagles team to me is similar to the team that lost to the rams in the NFC Championship. It is a few players away from being a contender. Had we made moves to get players like TO and Jevon Kearse then, it would have been great. We waited a few years to late, and we had some success, but then our team aged. I believe our FO won’t make that same mistake again.
I agree it will be difficult through the draft, for the reasons that EaglesBirdGang laid out. We arent great drafters. So I think we focus on free agency. I think we go all out to sign Nnamdi, and try to go for a player like Babin. I know calling Babin an impact player could be a stretch, but I believe he could come in here and be a 10 sack guy. I actually think we may get a 3rd impact player from what I’ve been here.
That brings me to the draft. If these reports are true, and we can get a top 10 pick for Lt Dan (aka Kolb), then we can absolutely get another impact D player. In addition, at our other first round pick, we can get an impact Olinemen that can start right away in Gabe Carimi or Pouncey. I expect the Eagles Front Office to be super aggressive this year. I just don’t have confidence they’ll make the correct moves, ie drafting Brandon Graham over Earl Thomas, which in my opinion was a bad move but jury is obviously still out.
On a side note, I’m glad to have finally made an account and to be able to have a great debate with eagles fans.
PS- Paulman, what is your parents basement like? Sorry, been wanting to take that shot for a while now! lol
If the eagles get a top 10 pick for Kolb (which is doable), we could get Prince or maybe even Peterson.
Paulman you are completely off base to think that the eagles cannot draft 2 impact defenders from this draft, which is deeper than last years defensively. I think a couple guys by the names of Nate Allen and Jamar Chaney made quite an impact last year. Along with that its ignorant to think that only the top 10-12 picks will have an impact in year 1. Yea the guys that go during those picks are supposed to be the best but every single year there are players that fall in the draft for whatever reason and have a large impact. The eagles manipulate the draft board and almost never pick in their slotted pick, especially their 1st. The last time the eagles picked in their original first round slot was 5 years ago. So to think that because the eagles are “supposed” to pick at 23 and cannot obtain an impact corner is just flat out wrong.
Prince is very comparable to Peterson. Peterson gets more recognition because of LSU and his ability to return kicks. Prince is the smarter player and has the ability to be a Revis-type player in the NFL. The Eagles will need to move into the top 12 to have a chance at him.
As for the comment on a lack of interceptions….they didnt throw at him. Watch the Oklahoma game where he took one side of the field out of the game.
To dsm841,
They made draft 2 players who become starters.. but “impact” is a pretty heavy tag to throw around.. I think Nate Allen had a great start and 1st Month last season and that’s about it.. He struggled mid-season and then got injured. I think he has a bright future ahead of him, not a Pro-Bowl player, but a solid good NFL Safety for the next 6-8 years..
Now J Chaney played well filling in for the injured S Bradley and he did make a bunch of tackles (though may of them were 5-7 Yards down the field) and his Pass Coverage was suspect as it is with most young players.. Again , i Think he will be a good,solid NFL Player, but not a game changer, not an impact playere.. This 2011 Draft has about 8 Impact players in it and the talent and depth really falls off after about the Top 100-125 Players (by the 4th Round)
Top Impact players from 2011 Draft
WR’s EJ Green & J Jones
CB P Peterson
DL M Dareus, N Fairley, C Jordan
LB V Miller
OL M Pouncey
I trhink this overall Draft Class is one of the weakest in years..
Their is quality depth along the DL and OL and that’s about it..
After the Top 2-3 CB’s (Peterson,Amukarama, J Smith) there is a big drop off
at CB (lots of good players, but no real starters, Pro-Bowl types
The LB corp is pretty thin after the top 4-5 players and the Safety Position is almost Non-exsistent
Lots of Good DT’s and some promising DE’s and that about it…
Offfensively, some strength and depth along the O/L but very weak at the SKill positions of QB,RB,TE.. There are some good WR..
I am being honest, In my 25 years of prepping for the NFL Draft, this is about the weakest class from Top to Bottom that I have seen.. If I was a GM..
I would draft heavy at positions on the DL/OL in the 1st 4 ROunds, then trade my 5th/6th/7th Rounds for next years (2012) Draft..