Kamalei Correa NFL Draft 2016: Scouting Report, Grade for Ravens Rookie

POSITIVES

A defensive end at Boise State, Kamalei Correa has an interesting projection to the NFL. Some teams we’ve spoken to like him as a 3-4 outside linebacker, others will use him as a 4-3 defensive end and yet others want him to stand up and play 3-4 inside linebacker. That’s where we project him.

A twitchy athlete in space, Correa moves well off the ball and gets upfield in a hurry. He offers speed rushing the passer off the edge and mixes it up nicely with a head-and-shoulder shake that gets offensive tackles off-balance. The mere threat of his speed is intimidating, so Correa should be deadly as a delayed rusher.

With excellent lateral agility, Correa offers the ability to scrape and run down the ball. He’s fast in pursuit and has a nonstop motor for the ball. He’ll make plays on the backside and has the true chase speed to run down ball-carriers on the sideline. A sure tackler, he has some pop in his pads.

NEGATIVES

A lack of length (31 ⅝” arms) means Correa will have a hard time pressing blockers off his frame. With tight hips to match a lean body, he doesn’t make much sense as an outside player. If he’s moved off the ball to a linebacker position, Correa must learn from the ground up how to play there.

A lack of experience in coverage will limit Correa off the jump. He’ll have to learn to take pass drops and use his hips working away from the line of scrimmage. A smart team won’t ask him to do more than hook/curl coverage early and will instead let him rush the A-gaps from inside.

Run-blockers have their way with Correa at the point of attack, and no matter where he lines up in 2016, he’ll have to work on play power and using his hands to come free from blocks. At Boise State, Correa could overrun the play and correct with speed, but he has to be more disciplined in the pros to take smart angles and not waste steps.

COMBINE RESULTS

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 243 lbs.

40 Time: 4.69s

3-Cone: 6.96s

Short Shuttle: 4.18s

PRO COMPARISON: Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers
FINAL GRADE: 6.50/9.00 (Round 2-3—Future Starter)