The Buffalo Bills selected cornerback Kaiir Elam with the No. 23 pick in the NFL draft. The Bills wanted to make sure they got Elam: They traded up with the Baltimore Ravens, sending the No. 25 and No. 130 picks to Baltimore.
Here are five things to know about the Bills’ newest corner.
1. Football family: Elam hails from a family with a lot of football experience. His dad, Abram, played in the NFL for seven years, after playing collegiately at Notre Dame and Kent State. His uncle, Matt Elam, was a first-round pick of the Ravens in 2013. Kaiir thinks that the opportunity to learn from his family and hear their constructive criticism helped prepare him.
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2. Junior year: Elam had a strong season his junior year, where he started 10 games, had six passes defended and one interception. He had a slight dip his senior season, but GM Brandon Beane says it’s something they’ve already tackled through, and that the way he’s used in a defense could get him back toward his junior year production. “His tackling at times was a little bit shaky. We talked to him about it, and part of it, he felt was the way they were asking him to do,” Beane said. “There are some things technique-wise that we’ll have him work on and clean up. But he’s a great young man." Late Thursday, All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman tweeted of Elam, "With that coaching he's going to thrive. Has flaws that are correctable. Look forward to see how this works out."
3. Freshman experience: Elam got involved in the Gators' defense early. As a true freshman, he had three interceptions, four passes defended, and 11 tackles, and he appeared in all 13 games with five starts. He was named to the Coaches Freshman All-Southeastern Conference team for his performance, and those years of experience going up against top receivers helped land him in Buffalo.
4. A number of accolades: In his sophomore season, Elam was named first-team All-Southeastern Conference. Elam was also a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award in 2020, which is given to the top defensive back in college football each season. Off the field, he earned SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll as a freshman.
5. Florida through and through: Elam is not only a Florida Gator, he’s also a Florida native. He’s from Riviera Beach and attended Benjamin High School. Elam spent draft night at a family friend’s house in Juno Beach, Fla. At Benjamin, he had 71 tackles, nine interceptions and three sacks. He also played wide receiver and compiled 97 catches for 1,490 yards and 15 touchdowns over four years on varsity.
