NFL Mock Draft 2011: Houston Texas Fix Secondary with Prince Amukamara at No. 11

March 9, 2011   ·   Dmitriy Ioselevich   ·   Jump to comments

The Texans had the NFL’s worst pass defense in 2010, giving up an average of 267.5 yards/game with young corners Glover Quin and Kareem Jackson hopelessly trying to contain opposing receivers. Adding a third young corner to that mix might seem counterproductive, unless that corner’s name is Prince Amukamara.

The Nebraska product didn’t have any interceptions last season, but that’s because quarterbacks knew better than to throw in his direction after what he did in 2009 (102 tackles, five interceptions, 11 passes defended, three sacks). Amukamara has incredible anticipation and route recognition skills and never loses his receiver. He also does a nice job against the run and has the speed to chase down a runaway ball carrier. He’s not quite as athletic as Peterson, but he still has No. 1 corner written all over him.

The Texans should consider themselves fortunate to get a player like Amukamara outside of the top 10. In the likely event that their prize is gone, the pick will go towards the defensive line with Aldon Smith and J.J. Watt as the top candidates.