Bills' Kaiir Elam: Starter, Star or Sub?
Buffalo Bills cornerback Kaiir Elam could find himself on the hot seat in his second season if he doesn't improve his play. Last season as a rookie first-round pick, the cornerback played only 45 percent of his team's total defensive snaps.
Though no rookies played an incredible amount last season for the Bills, more was expected of Elam. Unable to win an outright job, he was constantly splitting time with other cornerbacks such as Christian Benford and Dane Jackson. For the start of the 2023 season, Buffalo would ideally like Elam to win the job as the sstarter as the cornerback lined up on the other side of the field of Tre'Davious White.
Elam is aware that his first season in the NFL wasn't perfect, and he's ready to take the next step to asserting himself in the league.
“I was just tired of being down on myself, tired of trying to be perfect,” Elam said late last season. “I was just like, I'll give my all and like let the work take over itself, you know what I mean? Not trying to strive to be perfect anymore, just nothing's gonna be perfect. Just try to just give it my all, make sure I'm locked in on what I need to get done.”
Jackson and Benford will be right behind Elam waiting to jump on an early opportunity to get a bump in snaps.
In his first season, Elam pulled down two regular season interceptions, with an additional one in the playoffs. The post-season pick helped secure the win over the Miami Dolphins, and head coach Sean McDermott referred to it as a "launching point."
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