Report: Boise State pass rusher Kamalei Correa to visit New Orleans Saints
Boise State pass rusher Kamalei Correa is scheduled for a visit with the New Orleans Saints, according to NFL Draft insider Tony Pauline.
New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton already expressed a deep interest in taking a pass rusher in this upcoming draft. When will they address the need? Hopefully sooner rather than later, but Kamalei Correa could be one of the bigger steals this year in the second or third round.
Kamalei Correa/Boise State visiting the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers this weekend through beginning of next week.
— Tony Pauline (@TonyPauline) April 8, 2016
A fascinating specimen, Kamalei Correa saw his stock rise after he impressed at the scouting combine with a combination of speed and explosiveness. Spending most of his time at defensive end in college, he boasts the versatility to play outside linebacker as a player who can both rush from the edge and drop back into coverage, possibly making him a hot commodity at several positions.
Correa is a Hawaii native just like Saints linebacker Hau’oli Kikaha, and the two are almost identical in size (about 6-foot-3, 245 pounds), but he’s not nearly as polished as Kikaha was coming out of college.
More from Saints News
- Are the Saints playoff contenders or pretenders in 2022?
- 3 takeaways from Saints unofficial depth chart ahead of preseason opener
- Saints 2022 Training Camp: Top 5 takeaways from Day 13
- 3 things to know about new Saints QB K.J. Costello
- Kirk Merritt could be a difficult player for the Saints to cut
Kamalei Correa has the tools to be a great pass rusher, displaying the speed, explosiveness and power off the snap to develop into a disturbance in opponents’ backfields. Develop is the key word, though.
He shows flashes of greatness, but he lacks the ideal strength on the field to be a consistent physical force, often times getting overpowered by his blockers and losing the ball carrier. However, it’s his potential that makes him such an intriguing prospect. In the past two seasons, Correa racked up 18 sacks and 28 tackles for a loss, adding four forced fumbles in the process.
The All-Mountain West second teamer could be a generous payoff for the Saints or any team willing to pull the trigger. But if they can’t afford to wait, finding a top-tier player in the first round may be better the solution. You can add Kamalei Correa to the near-endless list of prospects visiting New Orleans.