Getty Kaiir Elam looks on before a Buffalo Bills game.
The Buffalo Bills moved up the NFL Draft board in the first round of 2022 to snag Kaiir Elam, the cornerback the team hoped would serve as a replacement for then-injured All-Pro Tre’Davious White.
While Elam ended up filling in for White until his return in November, the first-round pick has since fallen down the depth chart and could wind up as trade bait this year. Syracuse.com’s Ryan Talbot suggested that the Bills could consider putting Elam up on the trade block if another team is willing to pay the right price.
Kaiir Elam Falling on the Depth Chart
Talbot noted that Elam played well enough in the team’s August 26 preseason win over the Chicago Bears, but still finds himself falling down the depth chart. Talbot wrote that Elam is clearly behind fellow cornerbacks White, Christian Benford and Dane Jackson on the depth chart, which could make him expendable to the Bills.
“What the team does next will be interesting,” Talbot wrote. “Could the team trade Elam just one year after drafting him in Round 1? You can never have enough depth at cornerback, but Buffalo should at least listen if a team comes calling for Elam considering some of their other depth options at the position.”
Opinion: CB Kaiir Elam draft pick approaching “hedged disappointment” for Buffalo Bills
The Bills do have several needs that could be addressed through a trade. After starting middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds left in free agency, no clear candidate emerged to take his place. The Bills are also lacking depth on the offensive line, especially after veteran Brandon Shell’s unexpected retirement and Tommy Doyle’s season-ending injury.
While SI.com’s Mike Fisher agreed that Elam would seem to be a logical trade candidate, he added that the Bills may not be able to get enough in return to justify making a move. Fisher noted that Elam played well into the second half of Saturday’s preseason game, which could be a sign that the team is looking to showcase him for a trade.
“That is going to naturally lead to speculation that the team could trade him … but there is a problem: Elam’s value at this moment could not possibly be lower,” Fisher wrote. “Is he a “bust,” as guys in this spot are so frequently labeled? Is he a bad fit in this system? (If so, shame on the Bills.) Is he salvageable in a way that makes a former first-round pick, who is still just … years old, worth way more than the junk pick that would surely be offered in trade?”
Another 2022 Draft Pick Surpassing Kaiir Elam
While it was assumed that Elam would start the season at cornerback while White finished rehabbing a torn ACL, it was another rookie who ended up splitting time with him over the course of the season.
Benford, a sixth-round pick last year, ended up starting five games last year and had a strong performance in the preseason this summer, Talbot wrote.
“It appears to be a two man race for the No. 2 cornerback job between Dane Jackson and Christian Benford,” Talbot wrote. “After seeing Jackson start the first two preseason games, Benford was given an opportunity to start opposite Tre’Davious White. On the opening drive, Benford went step for step with DJ Moore on 3rd and 10 forcing an incompletion. He later added a tackle at the line of scrimmage against Justin Fields.
“It was an excellent audition for Benford in the competition for CB2. Regardless of the outcome, Benford and Jackson both seem capable of handling the job.”
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