Social media reacts to Kaiir Elam going in the first round

Untitled designby:Nick de la Torre•04/29/22•

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Kaiir Elam continued the Florida Gators’ tradition of having defensive backs taken in the first round. Elam was selected 23rd overall by the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night.

Elam came into the draft process with a lot of confidence. His physicality stood out to ESPN analyst Booger McFarland.

“I love this pick,” McFarland said of Elam. “He’s big. Leslie Frazier’s defense, they’re going to play a lot of zone where they gotta look back. Their corners have to be physical.

“He’s a physical corner that can come up and tackle, and it’s a need for this defense. So when best player available meets need and he also fits in your defense, they are ecstatic in Buffalo. This is a really good player for them.”

The Bills came up two spots in the draft to ensure that Elam would be there. He joins the AFC East Champions and should be a starting corner for the foreseeable future.

The call had been a long time coming for the cornerback from West Palm Beach. The Bills didn’t have a first round pick, but made sure to jump up to the 23rd spot to take Elam.

“We had had good grade on Kaiir, and we were down to one player in the first round on our board, and so at that point, it just made sense,” said Buffalo GM Brandon Beane. “We’re not sure what those teams ahead of us would have taken, but there was a lot of trade action going on too. It just felt like it was within striking distance.”

“Obviously, I’ve been hearing it loud and clear that we don’t have a corner from every single one of you,” Beane joked. “Neighbors, kids, everyone, so we’ll all sleep good tonight that we got a corner.”

A corner they have, indeed.

Elam was excited

Getting the call from a NFL team is the realization of a lifelong dream. Kaiir Elam was obviously excited, telling the Buffalo Bills owner to make sure they had the playbook on the plane for his trip from West Palm Beach to Buffalo.

One thing is clear, Kaiir Elam is ready to put in the work.

Elam introduced at a Buffalo Sabres game

Elam was in Buffalo on Friday night and in attendance with quarterback Josh Allen at a Buffalo Sabres game. The crowd reacted accordingly to the newest Bill.

Current, former teammates celebrate for Elam

Several of Elam’s current and former teammates congratulated him on social media, with ex-Florida receiver Jacob Copeland saying Elam should have been taken earlier.

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