Big Board ranking: #89

Positional ranking: #9

 

Overview

Position: EDGE

College: Colorado State

Class: Senior

Age: 24

 

Measurables

Height: 6’1 3/8”

Weight: 248 lbs.

Arm length: 32 3/8”

Hand size: 8 5/8”

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 4.57 sec.

10-yard split: 1.58 sec.

Vertical jump: 34.5”

Broad jump: 123.0”

Bench press: 23 reps

3-cone drill: N/A

Short shuttle: N/A

 

Strengths

Very instinctive. Excellent twitch and fluidity. Tremendous burst. Outstanding bend at the top of the rush. Great speed and athleticism. Very light on his feet. Smaller target for offensive tackles and uses a shoulder dip to lower the target area. Very impressive strength for his size. Attacks the chest of offensive tackles with his hands. Presses the rush at blockers before making his move to win. Very effective rip move. Quick to split a gap or make a move to finish inside. Uses a spin to free himself. Relentless overall play. Extremely high motor. Will overrun the quarterback and come back with an effort sack. Knows how to finish when he’s close. Natural feel for a quarterback escaping or sliding in the pocket. Strong taking down the quarterback when he gets his hands on them. Will attack the football for strip sacks. Great pursuit. Tremendous body control and balance. Quick to avoid a block. Aggressive into the backfield to play the run. Flashed an ability to hold his ground setting the edge. Excellent technique and patience to play zone reads. Good reaction time and hustle to defend quick passes to the perimeter. Experience as a stand-up rusher and with his hand in the dirt. Saw snaps on both sides of the formation. Has rushed standing up on the interior. Has been used as a tracker or quarterback spy. Played very well versus Michigan (2022).

 

Weaknesses

Below-average size and length. Lack of size prevents him from getting free at times as a rusher. Offensive tackles had some success grabbing his hands/wrists trying to control him. Can get overpowered and pushed back defending the run.

 

NFL comparison

Melvin Ingram

 

Conclusion

Overall, Kamara is a twitchy and instinctive defender that simply knows how to rush the passer from the edge. Any concerns about size should be overset by the effort he plays with, and Kamara will immediately boost an NFL pass rush as a target in Round 3.