RD 1, Pick 23: CB Kaiir Elam, Florida

[Motorin']

1 minute ago, Rigotz said:

If, hypothetically Beane was right, and the Cowboys were going to take Elam…. holy crap what an amazing call.

 

Elam was the best corner available and Booth clearly didn’t pass medical evals.

 

For those not worried about Booth’s sports hernia surgery, it’s the same surgery that kept Kolby Listenbee from ever playing a snap with the Bills after they drafted him. 

 

Gordon was my "what I expect the Bills do to" pick. And Elam was my "what I'll live with" pick...

 

But in interviews that I caught yesterday, Kyler Gordon gave off stoner vibes. His demeanor made my question his fit. 

 

With Booth, there was also the uncertainty of not knowing how fast he really is. But the injury concern may be the entire reason why Beane had Elam over him.

[DrDawkinstein]

Just now, Doc said:

 

Seems like a waste of hats.

 

NFL Accounting department in shambles trying to figure out how to cover $1000 worth of material.

[MrEpsYtown]

I was his looking at his dad's Abram Elam's, who was a Bill Parcells guy, wikipedia and this is crazy and sad: 

 

"Since 1987, three of Elam's siblings were shot to death. His older brother, Donald Runner, was fatally shot in 1987. His sister Christina, was killed in 1999. On May 9, 2008, his older brother Donald Elam was fatally shot; at age 14, Donald was once the youngest person ever indicted for murder in Palm Beach County, though he was later acquitted. On December 1, 2011, Abram's father died, and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones let Abram use his private plane to go to Florida to be with his family. His younger brother, Matt Elam played in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens.

His son, Kaiir Elam, played defensive back for the University of Florida and was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft."

 

Matt Elam also got in some trouble with the law. Not saying anything about Kaiir, but he is coming from a pretty complicated situation. From everything that people are saying he seems like a tremendous fit for the culture here. 

[Doc]

13 minutes ago, simpleman said:

I was hoping for Hall with an early 2nd  round trade up, but Beane flinched, panicked, and made a goofy trade up in the 1st that wasted his trade ammo to be able to grab Hall in the early 2nd. Not upset with the player selection, or their potential in the 1st, just the knee jerk panicked move by Beane. 

 

That's simple, man.  The 4th round pick would have only allowed Beane to move up 4 spots (to 53), at best.  Hall will likely be gone well before then.  Hell even trading their 2nd and 3rd rounders would only get them to 43, which is still probably not high enough.

Edited April 29, 2022 by Doc

[Motorin']

1 minute ago, Doc said:

 

Seems like a waste of hats.

 

Yeah, but how did his little cousin sitting to his right at the draft party get the Bills winter hat???

[DabillsDaBillsDaBills]

Probably would've been a small reach to take him at 25, but it's our biggest position of need so I would've been fine with it. 

 

The trade up feels wasteful (what are the odds DAL wanted to draft him?). At least it was only a 4th round pick 

[Doc]

3 minutes ago, Motorin' said:

Yeah, but how did his little cousin sitting to his right at the draft party get the Bills winter hat???

 

They might get all 32 teams' hats, but I'm sure they get extra swag during team visits.

 

2 minutes ago, DabillsDaBillsDaBills said:

Probably would've been a small reach to take him at 25, but it's our biggest position of need so I would've been fine with it. 

 

The trade up feels wasteful (what are the odds DAL wanted to draft him?). At least it was only a 4th round pick 

 

Bingo.  Not worth it to find out someone wanted to trade into the 23rd (or 24th) slot and take him, or the Cowboys wanted him (as it appeared they did).  Again don't think that Beane doesn't know what's going on out there.

Edited April 29, 2022 by Doc

[billrooter]

11 hours ago, Virgil said:

I don't understand why we had to jump in front of Dallas for him.  I don't like losing a 4th in this deep draft.  

 

I'll trust the quality and value, just don't like trading up

I could see them packaging picks we have left to much be backup if the really like someone in the 4th or earlier if they like someone, ot.sure points wise they might have to throw in a pick from next year. How many rookies actually make this roster, this is a stacked roster?

[MrEpsYtown]

The Cowboys connection is that Abram Elam played for them. They had him twice in his career and he is Bill Parcells guy. On wikipedia it says that Jerry Jones let him use the team's private plane to get to his father's funeral. So maybe they didn't want Kaiir, but there is a strong connection there with the Cowboys as Jerry has a relationship with dad. If Beane had any inkling they would take him, or anyone would trade up to grab him, then the trade is a no brainer. 

 

I was thinking a mini trade up for a guy they were targeting, but I was not thinking ElAm. I think there was someone on here saying that there was ZERO chance the Bills would trade up. I wonder where that guy is today. 

[BillsFanSD]

2 hours ago, nucci said:

it wasn't for no reason. He did it to move up 2 spots to get the guy he wanted. A 4th round pick is not that big a deal

This GM has an excellent track record of drafting high-quality players in or around the 4th round.  That pick was a big deal if it meant missing out on the next Taron Johnson.  

[Rochesterfan]

37 minutes ago, UKBillFan said:

 

I wondered that. Do you think those at home are given 32 caps - just in case?

 

The camera crews bring in the assortment of hats as part of the coverage.  
 

When they get the call - that is all part of the ceremony - he takes the call and the crew gets the hat ready and to the player to start filming.

 

They do not always have every team - they get an assortment based upon where and who the NFL believes will be drafting the player.  If they are wrong - they just edit that part out if needed, but they have boxes of swag stuff like that as part of the process.

 

 

[ddaryl]

2 minutes ago, DabillsDaBillsDaBills said:

Probably would've been a small reach to take him at 25, but it's our biggest position of need so I would've been fine with it. 

 

The trade up feels wasteful (what are the odds DAL wanted to draft him?). At least it was only a 4th round pick 

 

 

Every team knows the Bills would be looking hard at CBs and you have to assume some teams would be willing to jump in front of Buffalo to grab the last CB with a 1st rd grade. 

Bills were calling teams starting at pick #20 from what i understand, before they found their partner at #23. If they sat back and watch another team trade with Dallas they would of probably regretted it. So they made the move to get a guy they had ranked as a 1st rd talent at a position where teams were gobbling up the position.

It would be nice to still have the 4th, but not sure it would of been worth it as our need for a solid CB#2 was well known need.



 

[Doc]

4 minutes ago, Rochesterfan said:

The camera crews bring in the assortment of hats as part of the coverage.  
 

When they get the call - that is all part of the ceremony - he takes the call and the crew gets the hat ready and to the player to start filming.

 

They do not always have every team - they get an assortment based upon where and who the NFL believes will be drafting the player.  If they are wrong - they just edit that part out if needed, but they have boxes of swag stuff like that as part of the process.

 

Interesting.  But it seems silly not to have all 32 teams' hats.  You just toss the one to the player and take the other 31 back and sell them later.

[Rochesterfan]

18 minutes ago, Rigotz said:

If, hypothetically Beane was right, and the Cowboys were going to take Elam…. holy crap what an amazing call.

 

Elam was the best corner available and Booth clearly didn’t pass medical evals.

 

For those not worried about Booth’s sports hernia surgery, it’s the same surgery that kept Kolby Listenbee from ever playing a snap with the Bills after they drafted him. 

 

I believe the report came out the Hernia was healing fine, but he had multiple flags on potential knee issues that might effect longevity.

 

I have to believe that pushed him down badly as I thought going into the draft process - he was one of the top 3-5 CBs and a super fit here in Buffalo.

 

Something flagged for the guy that we just have not heard the full details on.

 

 

[Don Otreply]

Just watched a video interview / Q&A  with Elam, he appears to be a smart young man, and has his head on straight, I think he will be a very good addition to our team, 

 

Go Bills!!!

[Peter]

I have to trust Beane on doing what was best under the circumstances. It appears that Kaiir Elam matched both BPA and need and Beane made the move to ensure that Dallas did not pick him (given their history with the family) or trade to another team that wanted to jump ahead of the Bills - who everyone knows are in need of a CB.

 

If Beane had not made the move and some other team took the best CB available, it could have been a disaster watching other teams go after our one glaring weakness on the entire team. We also do not know whether T. White will be fully healthy at the start of the season. Yet, even if he is healthy, we still needed help on the side opposite of him.

[Rochesterfan]

17 minutes ago, DrDawkinstein said:

 

NFL Accounting department in shambles trying to figure out how to cover $1000 worth of material.

 

Especially since my guess is the hats are comped because the draftees wearing them make fans buy them.

 

I think the extras come back and then are distributed to the teams give to other players that get drafted.  They are not wasted.

 

 

[nucci]

11 minutes ago, BillsFanSD said:

This GM has an excellent track record of drafting high-quality players in or around the 4th round.  That pick was a big deal if it meant missing out on the next Taron Johnson.  

He was more concerned about the 1st round pick than the 4th round

[Rochesterfan]

12 minutes ago, BillsFanSD said:

This GM has an excellent track record of drafting high-quality players in or around the 4th round.  That pick was a big deal if it meant missing out on the next Taron Johnson.  

 

Not if it meant missing out on Elam.

 

🤦‍♂️

[machine gun kelly]

1 hour ago, CountDorkula said:

This is what I dont geat about this draft "Not a lot of good 1st rd talent and Loaded in 3rd 4th rds" do not seem to fit together.

 

Trade up again if you have to.

 

I'm still all aboard the Hall train, get a game breaking RB.

1, 2, 3. 3.  Love that Sesame Street bit.

 

Im with you if Hall or another stud is there.