2024 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Colorado State EDGE Mohamed Kamara

From now until the 2023 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top-10 picks, all the way down to Day 3 selections, and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Colorado State EDGE Mohamed Kamara.

#8 MOHAMED KAMARA, EDGE, COLORADO STATE – (R-SENIOR) 6010, 248 POUNDS

SHRINE BOWL INVITE

MEASUREMENTS

THE GOOD

— Possesses a filled-out frame at his size
— Stocky frame allows him to play with leverage and work under/around blocks
— Plays with fantastic pursuit of the football
— Does a good job of turning the corner into the pocket as a pass rusher
— Has a plethora of pass-rush moves, including speed to power, swim, club, dip, and spin
— Has a knack of going for the football to try and get the strip sack
— Can shock blockers back with strong punch to help get the corner
— Displays good get-off on the snap of the ball
— Plays through blocks and will continue to fight toward the football

THE BAD

— Is on the shorter side for pass rushers with poor length
— Will get washed down the line of scrimmage by blockers
— Too easily covered up on blocks against the run
— Stumbles a lot on contact and ends up on the turf a fair amount
— Gets knocked off center a lot when rushing inside
— Pursues so hard that he can struggle coming to balance to make the tackle
— Excessive lean on the edge also leads to balance issues
— Needs to do a better job setting the edge against the run
— Impressive sack numbers came against lower competition

BIO

— Redshirt Senior prospect from Newark, N.J.
— Brother, Amara, played football for Temple (2007-10)
— Earned second-team All-State honors as a senior, making 132 tackles with 11 sacks and six forced fumbles
— Three-star prospect, according to Rivals
— Known as Colorado State’s best trash talker
— Saw action in a rotational role as a true freshman in 2019, recording 22 total tackles (11 solo), 1.5 tackles for loss, and a fumble recovery
— Started three games in 2020 and notched 21 total tackles (seven solo) and 1.5 sacks
— Started three games in 2021 and notched 36 total tackles (22 solo), 7.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and a pass deflection
— Started all 12 games in 2022 and notched 44 total tackles (24 solo), 8.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery
— Started all 12 games in 2023 and notched 56 total tackles (29 solo), 13 sacks, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and a pass deflection
— 2023 team captain; Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year (2023); second-team All-American (2023); first-team All-Mountain West (2023), All-Mountain West, Second Team (2022)

TAPE BREAKDOWN

Mohamed Kamara is one player who made good use of his extra time in college with the COVID year, developing into one of the most productive pass rushers in the country this past season. Kamara appeared in 49 games over his career with 33 starts, finishing his time at Colorado State with 13 sacks in 2023 while racking up 29 sacks and five forced fumbles in his final three seasons. He’s an interesting evaluation for many reasons, having the tape that pops with the production but also showing how his measurables may hold him back at the next level.

When you pop in the tape on Kamara, you see a short, stocky edge rusher who is built low to the ground and plays with great burst off the edge. He’s an explosive athlete as you can see from his testing at the NFL Scouting Combine and that explosiveness also shows up in the film. He does a great job getting upfield in a hurry like you see in the clip below against Washington State. Getting to the corner as he dips under the tackle’s outside shoulder into the pocket, he brings down the quarterback for the sack, forcing the fumble for good measure at the end of the play.

Kamara is a nuanced pass rusher, having an arsenal of moves to defeat opposing blockers in his pursuit of the quarterback. Check out the two plays below with the first showing Kamara rushing off the edge. First using a two-hand swipe on the left tackle, he then goes to power to push the blocker back in the pocket, overwhelming him as the blocker falls down. Kamara gathers himself and wraps up the ankle of the quarterback in the backfield, dragging him down for the sack. In the second clip, we see Kamara stands up over the guard, shooting the gap on the twist as he gets into the backfield and brings down the quarterback for the sack.

Kamara’s relentlessness as a pass rusher pops on tape, tirelessly pursuing until the whistle. Check out this two-play sequence against Middle Tennessee where Kamara defeats the block in the first clip and runs down the quarterback attempting to flee the pocket for the sack. In the second clip, you see Kamara’s knack of going for the football as a pass rusher, swatting at the passer’s hand as he rounds the corner in the pocket to force the fumble, generating a turnover for the defense.

Kamara had several multi-sack games throughout his college career, seemingly getting on a roll when he managed to get hot as a pass rusher. One of those games was against Utah State where he racked up three sacks, which you can see in the clip below. Kamara wins around the corner with a combination of speed to power, refined hand usage to defeat blocks, and high effort to get to the passer.

Being that Kamara is a smaller pass rusher, he can squeeze through gaps when rushing inside and get to the passer quickly thanks to his effort. Watch the play below as Kamara goes inside the block of the tight end. Ending up on the ground for a brief second, he quickly gets up and leaps at the passer in the pocket, hitting him as he throws to force the incompletion.

Still, as you could see in the clip above, Kamara’s size can be a negative when it comes to getting off blocks as he can be overwhelmed at times by sheer size and strength. He can have a hard time working off blocks when blockers get into his chest and tends to get kicked out or washed in the run a fair amount. As seen the clips below, Kamara lacks that size and balance to hold his own at the point of attack and work off the block to get in on the tackle.

CONCLUSION

Mohamed Kamara is an undersized pass rusher who padded the stat sheet in college, developing quite the toolbox when it comes to his pass-rush moves. However, he lacks that ideal size and length at the position. That tends to make him a liability as a run defender, often getting neutralized and taken out of the play. Either Kamara will have to continue to improve his play strength and technique to better hold up against the run or be subject to a pure rotational role as a situational pass rusher who can also contribute heavily on special teams.

When coming up with a pro comparison for Kamara, Yasir Abdullah came to mind as a player who came out last year with near identical size and similar athleticism as an undersized yet explosive pass rusher. Abdullah was an accomplished pass rusher in college at Louisville, posting 20 sacks in his final two seasons. The Jaguars drafted him in the fifth round this past spring, but he has transitioned more to an off-ball linebacker role in the NFL due to his size.

Kamara has more weight than Abdullah and will likely stick it out at EDGE in the league, but he needs to be in the right scheme to be successful. The Steelers had a formal meeting with him at the Combine, and the team needs more rotational pass rushers with Markus Golden a pending free agent. He would be a guy to target in the later rounds to sit behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, rotating in with Nick Herbig while also making an impact for Danny Smith on special teams.

Projection: Day 3
Depot Draft Grade: 7.0 – Backup/Special Teamer (5th Round)
Games Watched: vs Boise State (2023), at Utah State (2023), at Middle Tennessee (2023), at Colorado (2023)