The New York Giants have a decision to make regarding Prince Amukamara. Should the team bring him back?
When Prince Amukamara was drafted by the New York Giants in the first round of the 2011 draft, I thought the Giants had struck gold and were looking at the next Nnamdi Asomugha.
And five years later, I was kind of right, right?
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I mean, please keep in mind that at the time, Asomugha was still regarded as a top cornerback. But when the failed 2011 Eagles “Dream Team” was burned by a plethora of offenses, it was clear Asomugha was fool’s gold.
I’m not ready to say Amukamara has been a complete bust, but he certainly has been inconsistent and spotty. He’s shown flashes of becoming a top-tier cornerback, but he’s never been able to take the next step to becoming great.
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Injuries have plagued his career, as he wasn’t able to get onto the field until deep into his rookie year. Amukamara has missed a total of 27 games in his career, and he’s only made it through an entire season once.
Since then, he’s been the Giants’ starting cornerback. His best year was probably 2014, a year in which he was seventh among cornerbacks in Pro Bowl voting before getting placed on season-ending IR.
This year Amukamara started out strong, but once again got hurt and missed time. When he came back, he was a liability. He miss-timed a route against Miami and got burned by Kenny Stills. He got torched — and I mean absolutely smoked — by Ted Ginn Jr., but the sure touchdown was dropped by. He got beat by Brandon Marshall on a game-tying touchdown.
Again, all of those plays came after Amukamara got injured, but the fact that he was routinely beaten is not a good thing.
With that being said, Amukamara has never been able to become a truly ‘elite’ cornerback. He’s shown glimpses of what he can be, but he’s never been able to put it together. He lacks big-play ability and drops easy interceptions.
Although Amukamara was never a tremendous cover corner, he was one of the best tackling corners in the league and was never afraid to come up and make contact with ball carriers.
Here’s the thing with Amukamara: The Giants would love to keep him, and I’m sure he wants to stay. However, Amukamara is likely seeking a hefty contract, and that’s not something the Giants are necessarily willing to pay the often-injured cornerback. Especially since the team likely doesn’t want to pay Amukamara more than their top corner Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who ended his 2015 in Hawaii as part of the Pro Bowl.
If Amukamara wants to take a moderate amount of cash, then the Giants will probably make a move to retain him.
The chances of Amukamara returning to the Giants are seeming increasingly slim. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
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Amukamara is seemingly perpetually injured, and he’s still not great in coverage. His biggest asset is his aggressiveness and willingness to help in the run game.
So the Giants should let Amukamara seek to be overpaid elsewhere. However, that unfortunately creates another hole on a defense that already resembles Swiss Cheese. New York will have to look to find cornerback depth in free agency, and it may have to seriously consider drafting a cornerback with the No. 10 pick.