Elam isn't a failed first rounder. Most of the time when he plays, he plays pretty well. He has had some key INT's in big games for us at big times and in the endzone. Pittsburgh in the playoffs last year for example.
For some reason, McD is unwilling to let him play and learn. Injuries have played a part in it, but I don't really understand how almost everytime he is pressed into duty(other than the Jags game where his ankle was basically unable to function properly) and he makes plays that you keep taking him out.
He hasn't been given the opportunity really, and maybe he hasn't earned it in training camp or practice or preseason or whatever. But Goddamn, how many big plays does he have to make IN REAL LIVE GAMES THAT MATTER before you give him a chance? Does McD have some secret agenda where he simply dislikes him to the point he will only play him if forced to?