Miami Dolphins fifth-round rookie Mohamed Kamara still hasn’t made his NFL debut. While he’s on the 53-man roster, the outside linebacker was a healthy scratch in the first four weeks as the team patiently develops the former Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year.
The hope, according to Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, is that they can get Kamara to become a lot like current starting outside linebacker Emmanuel Ogbah.
“He’s essentially what you hope Mohamed [Kamara] grows into,” Weaver told reporters Thursday. “He is an enforcer and you saw it multiple times in that game. He sets a firm edge. He can intimidate you with just his sheer size and will and his ability to stick his face in the fan. And then as a rusher, he’s not just a power guy, there’s a little finesse aspect and great hand usage to it, too.
“To me, he’s the perfect guy for Mohamed to watch and kind of see what he can take from him and then add to his game.”
Ogbah, 30, came into the league with higher expectations than Kamara as the No. 32 overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft. But it took time for him to find his footing in the league. After 12.5 sacks in three years with the Cleveland Browns, Ogbah was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs for backup safety Eric Murray.
It wasn’t until 2020 that Ogbah broke out with back-to-back seasons with nine sacks as a member of the Dolphins.
Kamara may be a similar late bloomer, but Weaver has high hopes for the rookie.
“He’s a guy that’s rugged, tough,” Weaver said of Kamara. “You talk about he should be a firm edge setter, be able to reduce him to a three technique and rush him there if need be, but he needs to be like your topflight security of the world. He needs to be the protector and be the enforcer on the field, and I’ve kind of tasked him with that since he’s been here.”
With Jaelan Phillips done for the year with a knee injury, it may be time for Kamara to see his first NFL snaps. However, the arrival of veteran Tyus Bowser could mean play time for Kamara remains scarce. In the meantime, he can spend the next few months continuing to learn in hopes of eventually becoming the Dolphins’ next Ogbah.
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