The man from Newark, New Jersey, who played college ball at Colorado State, is setting his sights on Pittsburgh. That’s not by random choice. Despite growing up in a sea of New York Giants, New York Jets, and Philadelphia Eagles fans, Mohamed Kamara marched to a different drumbeat. Growing up a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, he has the chance to play for his childhood team.
Speaking to reporters during the 2024 NFL Combine, Kamara admired not just the Steelers’ winning ways but how they won.
“I was a Steelers fan,” Kamara said via an Associated Press pool report. “There’s a lot of reasons. They had a culture that was winning and not just winning …The Bus, I loved watching…I was young, but his highlights and stuff like that I love watching his highlights and stuff like that. How he’d take a shot and continue hard working. Antonio Brown, that’s when he was out there. That was my team.”
Colorado State’s been his team since 2019. Biding his time as a backup, he broke out in 2022, racking up 16 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. This past season proved it was no fluke, bettering his numbers with a 17 TFL, 13-sack campaign. Wins were hard to come by, eight over the last two seasons, but Kamara made all the plays he could.
The NFL’s noticed. Kamara earned an invite to the 2024 East/West Shrine Bowl, where he stood out, catching the eye of our Melanie Friedlander, who has shown a knack for identifying Day Three sleepers (RB Isiah Pacecho in 2021, WR Jake Bobo in 2022). Now he’s at the Combine, the biggest pre-draft event, with a chance to boost his stock even more.
He also got the chance to meet Mike Tomlin. And admitted the moment had him more nervous than his interactions with other clubs.
“Man, before I even got in the room, I had to breathe before I got there. I’m just going to be honest with you. I had to take a little breath there. Everybody and everyone in that room was really nice to me, so that was cool.”
But he couldn’t tell him he has a Terrible Towel back home.
“Naw, I can’t [tell him]. I got to make sure if I go there, it’s because of my own merit. Not because of any other things. Because of my own ability, my own intellect, not because I like the team I grew up rooting for.”
A noble thought, though Kamara’s rooting roots would have no impact on his draft grade and status in the Steelers’ war room.
Based on his comment, noting he walked into the room with Tomlin and others, it appears Mohamed Kamara is one of the 45 prospects the team requested a formal meeting with. Though not confirmed, the team has shown plenty of interest in this year’s group of EDGE rushers, perhaps a sign they’re looking to add to the group. They valued the depth they had a season ago and with Markus Golden a pending free agent, the Steelers might want options for that fourth outside linebacker spot. Already having claimed Jeremiah Moon, there’s an appetite to add. The team has shown plenty of interest in Kamara, and this meeting is the latest example.
Mohamed Kamara’s story isn’t just “Steelers fans now entering the NFL.” To use his words, his merits are the story. He’s not long but stocky and well-rounded, making for a strong Day Three value selection. Like anyone else, he’ll be happy being drafted by any team. But if a 412 area code calls his phone in late April, it’ll mean a little bit more.
