Ranking the last 10 first round picks in NFL Draft for the Buffalo Bills

#8- Kaiir Elam, 2022, Pick #23

2022 was a year where Tre'Davious White was coming off a season-ending ACL injury in 2021 and without much CB depth, the Bills needed a CB early. The rest of the league knew this, and so the Chiefs jumped in front of the Bills and picked a CB in Trent McDuffie, who the Bills were eyeing, allegedly.

Because of this, it seems the Bills might have reached some on Kaiir Elam. Later on in this draft, the Bills did select a CB in Christian Benford in the 6th round, who has been more productive in the NFL than their 1st round selection in Elam. Because of this, and the fact that Kaiir was more of a man corner instead of a zone corner, Elam has not been a day one starter.

Kaiir Elam has played in 13 games in 2022 and only 3 in 2023. In 2022, Elam recorded 41 tackles, 29 solo, and two interceptions. Although his start to his career has been shaky, considering his background as a man corner, he has been pretty grabby, which has led to some frustration from the coaching staff and the fan base.

Despite all of this, he is still the second youngest player on the defense, a few months older than 2023 pick Dorian Williams. Because of his age and adjustment to this scheme, it was going to take some time to learn this system. At the start of the 2023 season, Elam injured himself in training camp, which lingered throughout the entirety of the season.

Along with his injury and with the guys that the coaching staff trusted in front of him, he did not see much playing time. The book is not written on Kaiir Elam yet, but with a coaching change (new DB coach Jahmile Addae) and removing himself from this injury in 2023 could be a great thing for his trajectory in 2024. At this point, I can't grade him properly, but if I had to, I give him a D+/incomplete. We shall see what he looks like moving forward.