As Tyrell Shavers broke to the sideline, he slipped and fell to the turf. Josh Allen’s pass sailed right into the hands of Kaiir Elam for an interception.
On the surface, it seemed like Elam was simply in the right place at the right time. But, for Elam, that’s exactly what the Buffalo Bills are looking for from their 2022 first-round draft choice, because that’s where he’s been lacking during his first two professional seasons.
Elam has shown flashes of brilliance, but they have far too often come with moments of frustration. Whether it has been injuries that have dogged him for two seasons or a struggle to fit into Buffalo’s defensive system, Elam’s play has made many wonder whether he was going to live up to the expectations of not only being a first-round pick, but one whom the Bills traded up to take.
But throughout offseason workouts, Elam seems rejuvenated. Struggling so long with confidence, Elam had a pair of interceptions during minicamp practices open to the media and it finally seems like he’s playing without fear of mistakes.
“I’m seeing plays develop one or two times, and after a while, it gave me the confidence to play fast and free,” Elam said. “I’m trusting in my technique that my coaches instilled and poured in me that allow me to play fast and free.”
Since Elam entered the NFL, there have been questions as to whether he fit into Buffalo’s defense. Elam specialized in press man-to-man coverage at the University of Florida, but the Bills prefer to predominantly play zone defense.
Elam played man-to-man defense on 28% of his coverage snaps in college, but did so on just 12 of 97 plays with the Bills last season. Many of Elam’s big plays have come in situations where even if the Bills were in zone coverage, the play broke down and his responsibilities transitioned into more of man coverage or he had the freedom to make a play on the ball, including wrenching the ball out of the hands of new teammate Marquez Valdes-Scantling in the end zone during a 2022 game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Elam was part of a three-way battle for the No. 2 cornerback job during training camp last year and finished third and he was a healthy scratch for the first four games. When he was finally activated after Tre’Davious White tore his Achilles tendon during Week 4, Elam struggled mightily in three games.
When the Bills acquired Rasul Douglas at the trade deadline, it came out that Elam had been playing through a torn deltoid ligament in his foot since the preseason, but general manager Brandon Beane also declined trade offers for Elam.
“Not everything has worked out perfect,” Beane said on Nov. 1, 2023. “But he’s a young player. He’s halfway through Season 2 and I’ve gone back and looked at his college stuff and I see it. I know what’s in there. We just we got to get it out of him. We got to get his confidence up and make sure he gets back to 100%, however we do that.”
Oddly, when Elam was healthy and active, he seemed to make plays when opposing quarterbacks threw in his direction. He had two interceptions as a rookie and another in the playoffs.
When Douglas was injured in the regular-season finale last season, Elam was inserted into the lineup for the AFC wild-card round, and with the Bills clinging to a 14-0 lead, he blanketed Steelers receiver Diontae Johnson and undercut a pass from Mason Rudolph for an interception in the end zone.
But whether it was friction with former Bills defensive backs coach John Butler, injuries or struggles with the scheme, Elam wasn’t able to move up from being the No. 4 cornerback on the depth chart or enough to be active barring an injury to the players ahead of him. And when the season ended, Elam didn’t seem optimistic about getting another shot to prove himself.
“Clean slate for Kaiir,” Bills defensive coordinator Bobby Babich said. “Working extremely hard. Like all our players, there’s a lot of moments of growth, and there’s moments of adversity in what you’re doing, or scheme execution where you got to get better at certain things and that’s everybody on our defense. But he’s working extremely hard. I think his mindset is where it needs to be.”
The Bills parted ways with Butler during the offseason and he was replaced by Jahmile Addae, while Babich was promoted from linebackers coach to defensive coordinator. Babich’s presence within the entire defense seems to be one Elam has favored since returning for minicamps, saying, Babich “treats everyone fairly.”
“He’s fair, but some people get more out of him than others in terms of getting on them,” Elam said, “which is understandable because everybody’s in a different place in their career and everybody’s accomplished more than others. But I love his juice and his energy. Every single day he brings it and that kind of rubs off on us.”
Elam will enter training camp behind Douglas and Christian Benford, who was a sixth-round pick in Elam’s draft class and has beaten him for a starting job two preseasons in a row. Douglas and Benford were both ranked in the top-10 in pass coverage by Pro Football Focus last season, so Elam has work to do in cracking the starting lineup.
Odds say that Elam will eventually get a shot to play, and with the soon-to-be 30-year-old Douglas entering the final year of his contract, it could be a showcase situation that dictates whether the Bills are confident enough to insert Elam full-time in 2025.
Benford missed seven games due to injury in 2022 and two last season, while Douglas has played one full season since 2019. Meanwhile, only one Bills cornerback — Levi Wallace in 2019 and 2021 — has started every game of a season over the last five years.
So, now, it’s up to Elam to clean up some of the small mistakes.
“All our players, we’re going to ask that the details are correct,” Babich said. “We’re going to ask that we’re paying attention to those minor things, because those minor things, if we let them slide, they’re going to become major things. And then we’re back to the drawing board. We’re back to Square 1. We’ll never have to get back to Square 1 if we keep paying attention to those little areas that we value and feel are important.”