Kamalei Correa, the EDGE player from Boise State, has been a media favorite throughout this draft cycle and looks to be a top 50 pick when the draft (finally) comes around. I wanted to see if the Jaguars could add this kind of player, so I broke down some film and liked what I saw.
Correa has been a consistent edge player in his three years at Boise State. He finished his career with 29 TFL and 19 sacks in three years, including an incredible sophomore season where he had 19 TFL and 12 sacks. He’s 6’3’’ and around 245 pounds, which are solid measurements for a 3-4 OLB. He had a nice combine, highlighted by a 4.69 second 40-yard dash. He’s also fairly versatile, playing most of his snaps as a 3-4 OLB or a 4-3 DE but also playing several snaps per game at MLB (usually in 3-3 fronts). He’s a productive pass rusher who can cover the flats well and hold up against the run. I broke down three of his 2015 games to see if I liked Correa enough to draft him the second round.
BYU
This was Correa’s best game that I broke down. This was also the first game I watched, seeing him impact the game in the ways that he did. He lined up as a DE and an OLB on both sides of the line, although I think he looks best on the offensive left side (odd, as a lot of good college rushers like Joey Bosa produce best against right tackles). He explodes off the line pretty consistently, but it doesn’t look like he is just predicting the snap count (a criticism other rushers like Jonathan Bullard have received). He wasn’t a great run defender, but the effort is there and that’s vital for a smaller pass rusher like Correa. He still forces the offense to pay attention to him in the run game and can get a TFL if they don’t. In coverage, he has good instincts in the flats, which is pretty much the only area he covers. He is stiff, but his awareness makes up for it. Overall, he impressed the hell out of me and did his best to carry Boise’s struggling secondary to a victory. Virginia This game was not dominant for Correa, but he flashed and made plays in a dominant victory. The first play of the game, Correa easily beat the RT of UVA and hit the QB, forcing a pick-6. I saw him lined up inside the DL for the first time as a 7-tech this game, but that didn’t last (and wasn’t a good idea to begin with, in my opinion). He also had a really nice bull rush on UVA’s LT late in the game that showed a lot of strength for such a small EDGE. This was the first game where I saw his speed translate in the open field, showing me that his fast 40 time translates to the field. Otherwise, he continued showing me traits from above and that he gives 110% all the time.
Colorado State
This game was not great for Correa, but I don’t blame it entirely on him. The effort was still there and many of the traits mentioned above continued to shine. I don’t think he tried to disengage as much in the run game, so he was easily locked up. This was the game where Boise State decided to play Correa a significant amount of snaps at MLB for some unknown reason. He doesn’t look as comfortable in coverage from that spot, as he plays better in the flats than in the middle of the field. Even in this “bad” game, Correa had an incredibly explosive play near the end of his playing time where he exploded past the LT and got an easy sack before the QB knew what was happening. He still looked solid, but this was not his best game. Final Thoughts After the BYU game, I knew that I wanted Correa on the roster. I really spent the next two games comparing him to Dan Skuta and the LEO’s that played last year to see where he would best translate. Before watching film, I thought that Correa would have to be a LEO in our scheme and wouldn’t be worth drafting high. Now, I think he’s a perfect OTTO who can drop down and become a DE in sub-packages and Lightning looks. Imagine a sub-package D-Line with Dante Fowler, Malik Jackson, Sen’Derrick Marks and Correa coming after QBs. I definitely think Correa is worth an early second rounder and would even consider trading up a few picks to get this stud. Would you be excited to see this guy in black and teal? Let me know in the comments section below. Make sure to follow me on Twitter @twjohns97 and keep reading my stuff on genjag.com and on Reddit. Thanks for reading and DTWD. |
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