Prince Amukamara
We were really surprised that he was there when we picked. We thought he would get picked a lot higher than that. But it happens like that sometimes in the draft. Guys can fall right in your lap. We think that is what happened. Everybody is excited up there. Our defensive staff is really excited up there. Our entire room is excited about it. His height, weight, speed - this guy is big and he is fast. There was some concern about his production on the ball this past season because he had more production on the ball the year before. But we think he can still play the ball really well. He is a good tackler; physical player. So there are a lot of things we like about Prince.
Q: With Corey Webster, Aaron Ross and Terrell Thomas, was this a need pick or value pick?
A: He was too much value. And it is a need pick as well for me. He will come in and he will play right away. He will be in the mix in our secondary right away.
Q: When a player drops like that, do you worry that maybe people knew something about him that you don't?
A: There is always a concern but we go by what we have on him. Our scouts scout him and our scouts are out for 200 days out of the year. And our coaches do the work. Marc Ross does some work. I do some work on him. We thought he was a terrific player and we never dreamed that he would be there at that point - where we picked him. So you get lucky like that sometimes and a really good player can fall to you like that.
Q: Why did his production fall off?
A: I think he had the reputation of being one of the better corners in the NCAA. I think that was part of the issue. The other thing is, the best player in college football was drafted in their defensive front last year. So when you have a guy wreaking havoc up front like Suh you get interceptions back there. So that really helps.
Q: When he was sitting there, did you consider moving back a bit?
A: We always think that - do we need to move up; do we need to move back. We waited for awhile. We always try to wait and see what is going to happen - get an opportunity to move - somebody might want to really move up there. But nobody had a decent enough offer for us to give up a quality pick like that.
Q: Why is this a ‘need' pick?
A: Because you always need corners; you always need corners and you always need pass rushers. Those two positions you always need on your defense. So it is always a need pick. Anytime you can get a corner, it is a need pick.
Q: Was this a slam dunk pick, or did you talk about it?
A: We always talk it out. Nothing is ever a slam dunk. We always talk it out. We always talk about why is he still up there? What were the grades on him? Everybody made a comment that saw him. We had him graded really high; thought he would be gone. So we always talk it out. That is part of our routine up there. We talk it out what we are doing.
Q: At what point did you think this guy might fall to the Giants?
A: We had already talked about that. We put all of the scenarios together. And that was one of the scenarios. We talked about the latter part of our conversation of who could fall. But we had no idea that he was going to fall to us at that point. We really didn't. But it wasn't the conversation about him - "what if this guy falls down; what if these two guys are on the board; what if these three guys are on the board?"
Q: What was the interview like; how is his football IQ?
A: He is going to be a quick study. He is a terrific guy. He is exactly what you want on the field, off the field. He is a terrific young man. We are excited about him. We really are. We are really excited about Prince.
Q: Is he a Darrelle Revis type?
A: He will have to prove that. He has some qualities probably like that but he would have to prove that. Darrelle Revis has done it. This guy hasn't played a snap yet. But we think he has a really good skill set. And again, he is in the rotation right away. Obviously height, weight, speed guys always play on your special teams. But he is in our rotation right away challenging for a job - for the nickel, for a starting position. So I love that competition. There is going to be some good competition at that corner position.
Q: Was there any debate in the room or was it, "I can't believe this guy is here?'
A: There was some debate. There is always debate. We always talk about a couple of guys. ...... and there is always a couple of guys to talk about. So there is always debate.
Q: How long did it take?
A: We were ready to go. We had talked about the scenarios unfolding - the draft unfolds right before your eyes. We started talking about those scenarios - "What did this guy do and what did this guy do?" So we pretty much had it talked out.
Q: Any consideration of Mark Ingram?
A: There were several players up there.
Q: Was he one of them?
A: There were several players up there.
Q: Was he in your top 10?
A: We had him high in our draft. We had him high on our board.
Q: Did you see Prince in person and watch tape on him?
A: Sure, yeah, absolutely.
Q: What stuck out?
A: Well, he played at a very high level. He is very productive. All of the background was outstanding on him. He has just been a really good football player. And again, we just never thought the guy would be there.
Q: Is he similar to anyone other than Darrelle Revis?
A: It is hard to compare him. It really is. It is hard to compare him. We just think he is going to be a terrific corner. I hope he just finds his own identity. But I don't have anybody in mind off the top of my head who he reminds me of.
Q: Any consideration to the fact that his arms are not long?
A: He is 6 ft tall so it really doesn't matter how long the arms are if you are 6 feet tall. You always like guys that have tremendously long arms but if you are 6 feet tall ---- if you are 5'8 and you have short arms, that is a problem. But if you are 6 feet tall and your arms aren't as long as you would like for them to be, you can still get by with that.
Q: Was he far and away the top guy left on the board?
A: He was the top guy left on our board, correct.
Q: Was there a big separation?
A: I don't know if there was a big separation, but he was the top guy on our board.