by It’s that time of the year again! NFL Draft season.
With the highly-anticipated draft kicking off this Thursday in Detroit, today I’ll be breaking down and highlighting the final college football star of this series — Colorado State University defensive end Mohamed Kamara.
PRODUCTION
One of the most disruptive defenders in the nation this past season, Kamara was a member of our Midseason Group of Five Heisman race and a player that continued to progress every year in college.
Following three seasons of solid production as a part-time starter, Kamara emerged as a consistent focal point for Colorado State’s defense by becoming a three-down edge rusher in 2022. An All-Mountain West selection, the New Jersey native tallied 52 total pressures and six sacks.
Kamara reached full superstardom as a senior in 2023, logging 60 total pressures and a career-high 14 sacks (4th in FBS) and 17 tackles for loss (T-9th in FBS), while being named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year. His 30.5 career sacks are the second-highest in Mountain West history.
STRENGTHS
It goes without saying that Kamara has the size, speed and strength combination to be a future star as an NFL edge rusher. An athletic specimen, Kamara has elite speed for his position (4.57 40-yard dash) and demonstrated remarkable career production throughout college.
And when you turn on the tape, it won’t take long to realize he was a cut above the rest at the college level. The first thing that jumps out about Kamara’s game is his short-area quickness and penetration off the edge — two things that are expected of edge rushers in the modern NFL.
Aside from beating opposing tackles off the edge with that speed, Kamara is phenomenal at staying flat and square when containing the perimeter on outside run plays and quarterback scrambles.
He is an immediate plug-and-play guy for a handful of NFL defenses right now.
MY COMP: Elvis Dumervil (DEN/BAL/SF 2006-2017)
Kamara’s ceiling and raw comp is to that of former 2x first-team All-Pro edge rusher Elvis Dumervil. The two defenders were production machines in college (Dumervil had 32 career sacks and won the Bronco Nagurski Award at Louisville) and are natural football players with keen instincts and tremendous athleticism and explosiveness.
Coming out of college, both Kamara (6’1”, 250) and Dumervil (5’11”, 260) had size concerns, which impacted their draft stock, but they make up for it by being versatile pass-rushers with a high motor and rare quickness.
PROJECTED ROUND: 3rd-4th
Despite his production and raw athletic ability, Kamara’s size has been a point of contention, drawing concerns regarding his ability to square off against NFL offensive linemen. Refinement is always a necessity and he may likely slide as a mid-to-late Day 2 pick. Regardless, franchises looking for a freakish, immediate impact player off the edge — Kamara is ‘the’ guy. There’s a lot to love about the Colorado State senior’s upside.