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This offseason is obviously different than any other we have seen as fans. Teams and players are usually having private workouts and visits at this point in the season, but due to the COVID-19 outbreak, all of that has been cancelled.
Still, teams and prospects have adjusted to using services like FaceTime to get that one-on-one time to help get to know each other better. One of those players for the Bengals is Kansas' Azur Kamara, who projects to be an edge player at the NFL level.
Azur Kamara had private visits set up w/ the #Bengals, #Cardinals & #Chiefs. COVID-19 prevented them from happenning.
— Justin M (@JustinM_NFL) April 9, 2020
He's held pre-draft meetings over FaceTime w/ the #Bengals & #Jets. He also has one coming up w/ the #Chargers.
Kamara was impressive at the Sr. Bowl & combine.
Kamara is a very interesting prospect. He came to America at the age of 10, and played soccer for most of his life before focusing on football his Senior year of high school.
He is a fantastic athlete, but Kamara is still essentially a ball of clay to NFL teams. He has incredible length (6'3" and 35 1/4" arms). He also has a good burst, and when you combine those things it makes sense why the Bengals would be interested. That is prototypical size.
The rest of Kamara's game needs serious work, though. He started out his college career playing two seasons at Arizona Western College before transferring to Kansas, and really only started one of those seasons. He still has plenty to learn about how to use his physical abilities to win against NFL offensive linemen.
Of course the Bengals got a close up look at Kamara that many other NFL teams never did. He played under the Bengals' coaching staff at the Senior Bowl earlier this offseason, so the team checking back in is very interesting.
Cincinnati isn't hurting at edge with Carlos Dunlap, Sam Hubbard and Carl Lawson, but they obviously need more depth to create a better rotation and cover for injuries. That creates a nice situation for Kamara where he doesn't have to be relied on, and he can learn from a very talented group.
It is very hard to say where a player like Kamara goes in a draft where information is among players is fairly limited, but if the Bengals don't have to spend a premium pick, Kamara could be a very nice addition for this team.