I wanted Mark Ingram.
It would have been a wonderful tearjerker … son of a former Giant with the same name who currently is serving time in Beaumont, Texas. A Heisman Trophy winner out of Alabama who has handled himself with grace and class. Who talked about how neat it would be to play in the Big Apple for the organization that got his dad a Super Bowl ring 21 years ago under Bill Parcells. Who smiled alongside Justin Tuck yesterday morning as he posed in Manhattan alongside a Subway sandwich bust of him made out of chicken salad. Who has been compared to Emmitt Smith.
He coulda been King of the City.
And the Giants picked a Prince instead.
Prince Amukamara.
Not an every-down running back as Ingram might have been for them. Not a mauler offensive lineman to help Tom Coughlin dominate the line of scrimmage.
A cornerback.
A 6-foot, 206-pound cornerback who didn’t make a single interception this past season.
A short-armed cornerback whose family comes from royal bloodlines in Nigeria. Whose grandfather was the king of the Awo-Omamma in Imo State of Nigeria, whose father Romanus was chief.
I wanted answers from Giants GM Jerry Reese when I rushed down to the assembly room to find out why. Why this player was passed over by more than a few teams in dire need of a corner.
And I got them.
Two reasons: Because he was the best player on their board. Because you can never have enough corners.
I’ll be honest, I might know Prince Amukamara from Prince William if I saw them together. Reese and Director of College Scouting Marc Ross have studied Amukamara for the better part of 365 days. I’ve seen a lot more of Ingram, and loved what I saw. If you are a Giants fan, you have learned to trust Reese and Ross more than just a little.
And now, the case for their Prince: “Was some concern about his production on the ball this past season, because he had more production on the ball the year before [five interceptions],” Reese said, “but we think he can still play the ball really well.”
Reese later explained that Prince suffered because he didn’t have Ndamukong Suh snorting fire in quarterback’s faces for Nebraska. Prince won’t have those kind of issues behind Tuck and Osi Umenyiora and Jason Pierre Paul and maybe even Mathias Kiwanuka.
“When you have a guy wreaking havoc upfront like that, you get interceptions back there,” Reese said.
And it isn’t as if the Giants have Darrelle Revis patrolling their secondary. Reese had called Prince a need pick, and I asked him why.
“Because you always need corners,” he said. “You always need corners and you always need the pass rusher. Anytime you can get a corner, it’s a need pick.”
As for Ingram, who was in the discussion inside the Giants war room with their 19th pick, he kept sliding down the first round. Ross said the Giants were “shocked” when Prince still was on the board.
“He is exactly what you want, on the field, off the field. … He’s a terrific young man,” Reese said. “We’re really excited about Prince.”
He’s tough. He tackles. He’ll play special teams. He’ll match up with Dez Bryant.
“He’s in our rotation right away challenging for a job,” Reese said. “For the nickel, for a starting position, so … I love that competition, man.”
steve.serby@nypost.com