When you look back on the 2022 draft class for the Buffalo Bills, it was one of Brandon Beane’s best classes as general manager of the Bills. This class included James Cook, Terrel Bernard, Khalil Shakir, and Christian Benford. Three out of the four received contract extensions that tie them to Buffalo for the next five seasons. There’s still work to be done with Cook’s contract drama that’s been going on since the end of last season.
Even though this specific draft class was nearly a slam dunk, Beane did have a major miss in the first round when he traded up to draft Florida cornerback Kaiir Elam. The Bills were in a major need for a corner since Tre’Davious White had torn his ACL the prior season and the Chiefs had jumped ahead of the Bills to steal Trent McDuffie.
Trading up for a corner wasn’t a surprise, but the Bills completely missed on Elam. Buffalo traded Elam to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for multiple late round draft picks. In three seasons with the Bills, Elam was a healthy scratch numerous times and couldn’t beat out Christian Benford, who was a 6th round draft pick in the same class as Elam.
Elam played in no more than 13 games per season, which included no more than 3 games in 2023. It was a bad pairing between Elam and the Bills, and it was time for the two to go in different directions.
Kaiir Elam continues to take shots at Bills
While the Bills have clearly moved on and got stronger in the secondary, it looks Elam is still taking shots at the Bills despite being in another conference.
Elam recently spoke to the media in Dallas and talked about how the energy in Dallas is something that he has never been apart of. Here is the quote by Elam, according to dallascowboys.com writer Tommy Yarrish:
"I feel like the energy here is something I've never been a part of," Elam said. "I love the enthusiasm, and also I would just say the energy from the coaching staff, they actually make you feel like they care, and that's something that's very exciting. - Kaiir Elam"Tommy Yarrish, Dallas Cowboys writer
This isn’t the first time that Elam has taken a shot at the Bills. After being traded to the Cowboys, Elam spoke with the media in Dallas and told them that he “was always placed in the back seat” with the Bills.
For Elam to keep saying these comments just shows that he still has some sour feelings towards the Bills. The energy within the Bills organization is at an all-time high because of the success that the Bills have had for many years now. Unlike the Cowboys, they are true championship contenders.
Maybe Dallas is where Elam can turn his career around for the better, but he’s got to prove that the Cowboys made the right choice in trading multiple draft picks for him. Meanwhile for the Bills, they are in a much better position without Elam than they were with him.