When you hear that LB Kamalei Correa is 6-foot-3 and weighs in a 241, you might think he’s on the… wrong team… wrong place… at wrong time, but it would be you, who would be wrong. In all likelihood.
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Kamalei Correa was drafted out of Boise State in 2016 as the 42nd pick overall by the Ravens. Correa bombed out in Baltimore and after 2 years not getting many snaps — 195 over 2 seasons — was traded to the Titans for a 6th round pick in 2018. In Nashville, he had two good years, before getting the dreaded “hamstring” injury designation and was
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released after 2 and a 4th seasons, then picked up by the Jags. To get a much improved picture of Correa, here’s a snippet of the audio of Joe Verduzco, a Ravens fan who runs his own podcast, on Correa’s career itinerary:
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“He would drop back into coverage occasionally and he showed that he could do it all.” Hmm. My first take was, Correa looks like he’d have been better off in a defense like Bob Sutton’s than Steve Spagnuolo’s. The dirty truth is, Spags likes to give the offense so many different looks that Correa’s presence will be a big advantage. Let’s explore just how.
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Here, Correa tells his own story, looking back at the draft, when he was traded to the Titans:
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And now he’s a Kansas City Chief. In 2018 and 2019, Correa played an average of 377 snaps per year for Tennessee, and in that limited role, he had a total of 56 tackles, 8.5 sacks and 10 QB hits. That’s not insignificant production, in part time reps. There are times when GM Brett Veach likes a player when he’s coming out of college… ends up taking someone else, but he banks that interest away until that player becomes available down the line. That looks like what may have happened here. Why the Ravens were interested in him in the first place is a mystery since they didn’t really give him a shot in their defense… a defense he wasn’t suited for in the first place. However, his old DC remembered him and brought him to the Titans where he excelled… when he was on the field.
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The more I watch Correa, the more I like him. Here’s a play where he was called for “Roughing the Passer” but it’s fairly obvious that it was the wrong call. I’ve flipped the tape so you can watch the play in slow motion first and the analysis of the rough call, then you watch it in full speed at the end. By re-sorting the video in this way, you may end up having more of an appreciation for the speed at which Correa plays the game.
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The left tackle he beat on that play was the 6-foot-5, 308 lbs. Cedric Ogbuehi, who was drafted as the fourth overall tackle in the 2015 draft at pick #21. Correa’s speed and quickness was not something I anticipated, and it looks like Ogbuehi didn’t either.
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Here are some of Kamalei Correa’s best numbers when he came out in 2016:
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By comparison, Frank Clark ran a 4.79 40 yard dash in 2013 (although it’s rumored he ran a 4.5 while at Michigan). We perhaps give the 40 too much credence, beginning with yours truly. There are other numbers which may foretell a player’s success. Stack.com says this about the 3-Cone Drill:
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“… If you had to pick an event that might “matter most” when it comes to hinting at a player’s future NFL production, you’d be hard pressed to find a stronger correlation then that between the 3-Cone Drill and elite sack artists.”
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Correa’s 3-Cone drill time is excellent and when you consider that Dee Ford (sorry to those who thought I’d never bring his name up here again) ran a 7.06, it looks even better. Now, is that Steve Spagnuolo’s plan for Correa? To exclusively use him as a pass rusher? While I think he may be capable of more than that, if Spags decides to only use him in purely pass rush situations, it will be a plus for K.C.. It seems more likely that Spags is planning on using Correa all over the front 7, the way Boise St. used him early in his college career. Here are some plays from Correa’s Sophomore season:
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Correa looks like he’s playing more of a Dirty Dan role here. He’s all over the field but mostly in the box. They even have him covering WRs, or at least beginning on the outside then slipping inside to make a tackle. If the Chiefs are planning on really using Correa, it looks like he’ll be playing some kind of hybrid role, then again, aren’t all of Spags defensive players offering that kind of flexibility? Except for the interior DL, most every other defensive player is asked to do multiple tasks. Then again, DT Chris Jones is asked to play DE at times. It’s one way Spags keeps opposing QBs guessing. Boise St. even had Correa lined up at middle linebacker but it’s hard for me to see Spags asking that kind of look from Correa, very often.
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The Scouting Academy had this to say of Kamalei Correa at the time he came out in 2016:
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Projection: Starting player into any scheme, 3-4 as an OLB, or 4-3 as a OLB, DE, or DT you can win with. Very versatile and reliable defender who knows exactly which Gaps to cover, very good FBI [Football Intelligence] and instinctive player who defends the run well, but is lacking in Pass Rush moves and can’t bend the Edge efficiently.
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They make the point that Kamalei Correa didn’t have a developed toolkit of pass rush moves, but he’s been in the league for 5 years now, and as a vet he knows, he has to learn it to earn it… or he’s done. DL Coach Brendan Daly and LB Coach, Matt House should be able to get the best out of him. He should have fresh legs as he hasn’t been used a lot and hopefully that’s because he hasn’t found the right fit yet, or coaches who know how to utilize his talents. Something the Chiefs are usually very good at.
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Correa looks like a passionate player, but as someone on Twitter responded to the above post: “I wanna to see a hit thoo.” So, let’s take a look at Correa in action. Here he bull rushes the Bears LT and gets a sack (he’s wearing #51):
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Following is an interception by Correa. It came in the Hall of Fame Game in 2018, the Bears vs the Ravens, and was off of ex-Chiefs QB Chase Daniel. Correa is lined up as the ILB right between the hash marks:
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There’s lots to look forward to this coming season, not the least of which is how Steve Spagnuolo will use Kamalei Correa. It’s almost as hard to tell what tricks Spags has up his sleeve as it is to tell what Andy Reid has up his. I can’t wait to see the Correa Bag of Tricks.
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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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