'Very, very angry': Mohamed Kamara eager to prove he should have gone higher in NFL draft

Mohamed Kamara is peeved.

The former Colorado State football star says NFL teams will rue letting him sit and wait to hear his named called.

"All 31 other teams, look out because the way I’m about to play against these guys, you should’ve picked me before," Kamara told reporters this weekend after being selected by the Miami Dolphins, according to a transcript on the team's website.

Kamara was selected by the Dolphins in the fifth round, No. 158 overall.

"To be honest, I’m very excited, but I also am very, very angry going the round that I did. That’s just my personality. I knew I could’ve went higher and I wanted to go higher, but the lovely team of Miami picked me up and I’m going to give them that burning desire," Kamara said. "I have a chip on my shoulder, so it just got even greater."

The pass rusher had 13 sacks last season and was the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year.

Mohamed Kamara on new teammate and former CSU star Shaq Barrett

Kamara's selection immediately brought to mind another former sack-master at CSU: Shaquil Barrett. Barrett was the last Ram to win the Mountain West's top defensive award before Kamara in 2023.

He's gone on to have an excellent NFL career and signed with Miami as a free agent in March. Barrett is a two-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time Super Bowl champion.

While at CSU, Kamara said Barrett was one of the players he used to help guide his style of play as similarly undersized pass-rushers. Now they're teammates.

"Shaq Barrett has a great motor, too. He’s a guy that does a great job at turning the corner. He gets a lot of pressures," Kamara told reporters in Miami. "One thing that I’m going to take away from him and I’m going to study his brain is how he was able to sustain this long career in the NFL, because that’s what I want to do. Like I said earlier, he won (Mountain West) Defensive Player of the Year years before, and now I’m coming in winning Defensive Player of the Year for the same team (CSU)."

Mohamed Kamara NFL draft grades

Here's a look at how some pundits graded Kamara's selection by the Dolphins:

USA Today (Ayrton Ostly): C+. Ostly writes that "Miami could've bolstered more pressing needs at this spot" but that Kamara is "a physical, high-motor pass rusher who consistently works offensive lineman despite his 6-foot-1, 248-pound frame."

CBS Sports (Chris Trapasso): B. "Smaller EDGE who converts speed to power consistently because of low center of gravity. Burst is there as is his dip/bend around the corner. Nice collection of pass-rush moves. Gets overwhelmed a lot because of his lack of size and length," Trapasso writes.

Bleacher Report (Brent Sobleski): B. Sobleski writes Kamara's "overall athletic profile and relentlessness give Kamara rotational/sub-package potential."

Pro Football Network (Oliver Hodgkinson): B. "An impressive athlete with a good pass rush toolbox, he can translate that college production to the NFL in Miami," Hodgkinson writes.

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle on X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram @Kevin_Lytle.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Mohamed Kamara eager to prove he should have gone higher in NFL draft