Prince Amukamara And The Bills: Dan Kadar's Take

This post is part of a continuing series in which we break down 13 2011 NFL Draft prospects - our Baker's Dozen - that should interest the Buffalo Bills. Keep up to date on our Baker's Dozen series here.

As we draw ever closer to the start of the 2011 NFL Draft, the fairly absurd idea that Prince Amukamara might be an option in the first round for the Buffalo Bills now seems, frankly, ridiculous. Unless the Bills move down from the No. 3 overall pick, it's about as close to an impossibility as you can get without actually getting there that Amukamara won't be a Bill.

Still, I wanted to get Dan Kadar's opinion on Amukamara in relation to Patrick Peterson - who is a possibility for the Bills, if only on the periphery - just for the sake of perspective. Before we even get there, however, Kadar made sure to crush any optimism that Amukamara might be a surprise pick for the Bills on April 28.

"He probably doesn't make sense for Buffalo because he's not a once-in-a-lifetime cornerback," Kadar (Mocking the Draft said. "Don't get me wrong, he's good. Amukamara is maybe the most physical cornerback in this class and has perfect size. But his lack of elite ball skills and agility hold him back. The earliest Amukamara probably should go is seventh to San Francisco and maybe no later than 11 to Houston."

As for comparing Amukamara to Peterson, I asked Kadar, Peterson's superior athleticism aside, how Amukamara stacked up in terms of pure coverage ability. Again, Kadar gave the distinct advantage to Peterson.

"As a pure coverage cornerback, there are a few ways Peterson is superior to Amukamara," Kadar began. "Peterson is much more of a quick-twitch athlete who has the agility and athleticism to change direction and work against a variety of receivers. Amukamara, meanwhile, is a little stiffer in his movements and can get beat by smaller, agile receivers; for instance, he'd be great against Brandon Marshall, but maybe not Davone Bess."

To wrap up his thought process, Kadar brought up Peterson's superior ball skills.

"Peterson's ability to make a play on the ball also shouldn't be discounted," he said. "In fewer chances to make a play, Peterson had more career interceptions than Amukamra. Don't forget, Amukamara had Alfonzo Dennard opposite him, so it's not like teams could just never throw at Amukamara. He was seeing plenty of passes while Peterson wasn't."

If you didn't understand why Peterson is getting buzz as a prospect but Amukamara isn't, this is a strong way to answer the question.