Undrafted free agents never get the same among of headlines as NFL draft picks or veteran free agents. That is just the nature of business. By and large, most undrafted players don’t last long in this league, even though a healthy chunk of rosters everywhere are made up of them. That said, there are plenty of success stories sprinkled around out there. The Chicago Bears are no exception to this.
Since Ryan Pace took over as GM in 2015, the team has seen an uptick in success at finding quality undrafted players. It started that first year with the arrival of Bryce Callahan. He became one of the better nickel corners out there. He was soon followed by Roy Robertson-Harris, a giant defensive lineman who established himself as a quality run defender with pass rush skill. Last but certainly not least, Sam Mustipher and Alex Bars were undrafted offensive linemen out of Notre Dame in 2019.
Mustipher is the starting center. Bars is the primary backup at guard.
So the Bears have become pretty good at this sort of thing lately. That is why it might not be wise to ignore this latest incoming crop of undrafted rookies. Most eyes are probably centered on Charles Snowden. The former Virginia edge rusher was widely viewed as a high-upside talent who probably should’ve gone in the 4th or 5th rounds back in April. An injury contributed to his fall and the Bears swiftly took advantage by signing him.
There is no doubting his massive potential. However, he might not be the one who ends up excelling right away. One guy who has been consistently overlooked from the start? Defensive lineman Sam Kamara.
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Chicago Bears will love Sam Kamara if they use him right
There are a few reasons why Kamara probably doesn’t get much attention. The most obvious is coming from a smaller school. Stony Brook is an FCS program. So it isn’t prone to producing NFL talent on the same level as a Virginia. That being said, the tape shows a player that is pretty damn good at what he does. Namely getting into the backfield and wreaking havoc.
In his last eight games played for the program, he was an absolute wrecking ball. Kamara tallied five sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles. This isn’t counting the numerous other times he put heat on the quarterback. His mixture of quickness, explosive, and pad level make him a constant headache to block. What makes it even more impressive is half that production came after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. So he’s tough too.
His future with the team comes down to two things.
How much strength he can add to his frame. Something that will be a necessity with his limited size. Then it will be how the Chicago Bears coaches decide to use him. If they try to make him a classic 3-4 defensive end? It’s not going to work. Not unless he gets a lot better against the run. However, if they slot him into a pass rush specialist role? Don’t be surprised if he’s seeing snaps sooner than any undrafted player from this class.