It’s fair to say that Kaiir Elam’s having a breakout summer during his third training camp with the Bills
When the Buffalo Bills drafted cornerback Kaiir Elam in the first round, he reportedly asked for the team’s playbook on the plane ride to meet with the team at One Bills Drive. The optics of that moment focused in on a player who was hungry and ready to get to work with his new team, and dedicated to refining his craft through meaningful study.
Entering his third season, the Bills are still holding out hope for Elam to figure out life as an NFL cornerback. It’s perhaps the most difficult job on defense, especially in the age of such prolific quarterbacks who appear to see more rules introduced to favor their success. But those cornerbacks tasked with guarding a the favorite receivers of QB1? They’re supposed to make magic happen with almost zero contact, and against daunting odds and entities that prefer seeing touchdowns, yards, and excitement.
For a player like Kaiir Elam, that’s proved to be a huge challenge through two NFL seasons. He’s a very physical corner who’s known to be handsy, and he’s exhibited a penchant for drawing penalty flags through three seasons.
But what Elam also brings is immense talent, as a tall, athletic outside corner with impressive speed. He’s also someone who plays his best in man coverage, which isn’t necessarily the preferred scheme of the Bills.
So Elam’s had to adapt, and being asked to learn on the job didn’t work out well. Thus he sat, quickly ceding snaps to cornerback Christian Benford, who was drafted in the same class but much later. Benford just clicked sooner playing within zone-heavy looks. He’s by no means faster or more athletic — but he has proved more reliable for head coach Sean McDermott. Most felt Elam’s path to starting with the Bills was gone.
The NFL is rife with change, where every season hope springs eternal largely due to roster and coaching overhaul. For Kaiir Elam, it was clear that a coaching change was necessary. Reports came out that former defensive backs coach John Butler and Elam didn’t mesh. A few stated that Butler’s coaching style was harming Elam’s trajectory. Even left tackle Dion Dawkins mentioned how inside noise was at play regarding Elam. But with the room on a whole performing so well, who was going to argue for change?
This offseason change came, and now it’s Jahmile Addae’s show. Reports this spring and summer have reinforced how Addae has helped Elam blossom. To his credit, Elam’s put together a fantastic offseason and he’s performing exceptionally well with the ones in training camp. But would he have found the opportunity and ability without Jahmile Addae? Has Elam finally turned the corner, ready to be a consistent NFL starter?
On Sunday, McDermott was asked what he believes has spurred Elam’s recent breakout success. He clearly understood two things:
“One is, he continues to work tirelessly to improve, so credit him for that. Two is the addition of Jahmile and starting with a clean slate and the belief in there that with what Bobby (Babich, defensive coordinator) and Joe Danna (safeties coach), and now Jahmile have added too — I think that those two things combined, at least early on here, have, I think been what’s helped him.”
To those observing training camp this summer, it appears as though the coaching staff makes a concerted effort to pump up every positive play from Elam. McDermott understands what celebrating every player can do, and offered the following as it relates to the team and with Elam’s situation:
“... sometimes you have to give belief and give confidence before you get it — and I’m not saying that’s the case in this situation or all situations — but I do believe that our environment and the environment that we build — I would hope helps give confidence to each and every player so that they can become the best version of themselves while they’re in Buffalo. And I think that’s happened in a lot of the players that we’ve had. And so, specific to Kaiir it is important. I mean, he’s been through — for sure, let’s just say last year alone that was a challenging and trying year. And so, there is an element of or degree of reinstilling that belief and that confidence.”
Instead of a relatively unknown player taking camp by storm, this summer it’s Kaiir Elam. Through confidence Elam’s game has evolved, and you can be sure the cheers from Bills Mafia will further fuel his rise.