Kaiir Elam traded to Cowboys

[davefan66]

Dude can say whatever he wants. He was given many opportunities to be a player and couldn’t do it.

 

He was picked the same year as a 6th round pick who is a starter and just signed a nice extension. So coaching ain’t the problem.

[GunnerBill]

7 hours ago, DCofNC said:

I expect him to be a contributor in Dallas, he flashed quite a bit when he got a chance here.  He also had a lot of mental lapses, so if the coaching there can reach him, he was a 1st round pick for a reason.

 

I think at this point he is so mentally scrambled I'd be surprised if he panned out in Dallas. 

1 minute ago, davefan66 said:

Dude can say whatever he wants. He was given many opportunities to be a player and couldn’t do it.

 

He was picked the same year as a 6th round pick who is a starter and just signed a nice extension. So coaching ain’t the problem.

 

I don't think coaching was the issue per se. But I always felt it was an odd pick for the scheme. And both personnel and coaching deserve criticism for that because there is no way Beane picked him without McDermott and Frazier (at the time) being confident they could use him.

 

Had he gone to a better scheme fit out of the gate could his career have been different? Maybe. At this point tho I think he will just meakly flame out of the league.

[davefan66]

4 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

I think at this point he is so mentally scrambled I'd be surprised if he panned out in Dallas. 

 

I don't think coaching was the issue per se. But I always felt it was an odd pick for the scheme. And both personnel and coaching deserve criticism for that because there is no way Beane picked him without McDermott and Frazier (at the time) being confident they could use him.

 

Had he gone to a better scheme fit out of the gate could his career have been different? Maybe. At this point tho I think he will just meakly flame out of the league.

I really feel the coaching staff gave him every opportunity. He could have been traded or straight up cut a few seasons ago and people would have understood. Once you are publicly in the “doghouse”, you either work to get better, or shrink and never improve. In feel he did the latter. 
 

Could he have been better in a scheme built for his talents? Sure. That’s an interesting part of the NFL. How many players that never made it would have flourished in a different situation, ie: depth, coaching?
 

For whatever reason he was “broken” here. I don’t believe it was largely due to coaching. Personal responsibility.

[Bill from NYC]

1 hour ago, GunnerBill said:

And both personnel and coaching deserve criticism for that because there is no way Beane picked him without McDermott and Frazier (at the time) being confident they could use him.

 

 

Interesting theory. I heard it somewhere else but I can't remember where.

[GunnerBill]

1 hour ago, Bill from NYC said:

Interesting theory. I heard it somewhere else but I can't remember where.

 

No your theory is McDermott is instructing Beane to pick him. Beane makes the picks. But the coaches are a part of their evaluation process, especially on round 1 guys in terms of how they fit and would/could be used. Beane has explained this many times. 

[eball]

10 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

 

No your theory is McDermott is instructing Beane to pick him. Beane makes the picks. But the coaches are a part of their evaluation process, especially on round 1 guys in terms of how they fit and would/could be used. Beane has explained this many times. 

 

If there is no teamwork and cohesion between the HC and GM (with support from ownership) then you have the Jags, Jets, and Browns.

 

GMs will whiff.  A lot.  Many fans get too caught up in the misses (particularly 1st rounders) to appreciate the overall performance of the GM, but there’s no question Beane whiffed on this one.  Obviously they thought they could use Elam’s talents in their defense, but as we all know, those evaluations are far from perfect and difficult to predict.

 

[AlCowlingsTaxiService]

18 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

Plot twist. I’m Sal. 

Please regale us with tales of your HOF Little Loop coaching career

[DCofNC]

On 5/23/2025 at 4:03 AM, GunnerBill said:

 

I think at this point he is so mentally scrambled I'd be surprised if he panned out in Dallas. 

 

I don't think coaching was the issue per se. But I always felt it was an odd pick for the scheme. And both personnel and coaching deserve criticism for that because there is no way Beane picked him without McDermott and Frazier (at the time) being confident they could use him.

 

Had he gone to a better scheme fit out of the gate could his career have been different? Maybe. At this point tho I think he will just meakly flame out of the league.

 

On 5/23/2025 at 4:17 AM, davefan66 said:

I really feel the coaching staff gave him every opportunity. He could have been traded or straight up cut a few seasons ago and people would have understood. Once you are publicly in the “doghouse”, you either work to get better, or shrink and never improve. In feel he did the latter. 
 

Could he have been better in a scheme built for his talents? Sure. That’s an interesting part of the NFL. How many players that never made it would have flourished in a different situation, ie: depth, coaching?
 

For whatever reason he was “broken” here. I don’t believe it was largely due to coaching. Personal responsibility.

He may be too scrambled to make anything of himself.  Dallas has been getting a lot from their corners so if he’s going to be anything that’s a solid shot.

[Mango]

On 5/23/2025 at 4:03 AM, GunnerBill said:

 

I think at this point he is so mentally scrambled I'd be surprised if he panned out in Dallas. 

 

I don't think coaching was the issue per se. But I always felt it was an odd pick for the scheme. And both personnel and coaching deserve criticism for that because there is no way Beane picked him without McDermott and Frazier (at the time) being confident they could use him.

 

Had he gone to a better scheme fit out of the gate could his career have been different? Maybe. At this point tho I think he will just meakly flame out of the league.

 

McD seems to play some favorites, no doubt. Elam isn't nearly as bad as some posters make him out to be, but he wasn't as good as he needed to be here in Buffalo which likely made it hard for him here.

I hope he finds some success. Seems like a good dude. 

I will keep beating this drum. This team continuously needing to re-draft positions in the top 100 paired is a huge reason why this team has not been able to get over the hump. Singletary, Moss, Hines, Cook. Then Basham, AJE, Rousseau. Coleman then burnt a third on a washed up Cooper. It isn't that you can have too many pass rushers, or cheap RB's/WR's, or too much talent for that matter. It is that they keep going right back to the well in short order because the first one they grabbed didn't get it done. 

Edited 3 hours ago by Mango
word

[BADOLBILZ]

On 5/22/2025 at 4:17 PM, Kirby Jackson said:

Haven’t read the whole thread or any of it so sorry if this has been discussed. What did we expect him to say about Dallas? “I liked the last place better.” Of course he is going to say what he said and we shouldn’t care at all. 
 

As for Kaiir the person. He’s a fantastic human being. We know the family of Sophia. You’ve all probably seen the story whether you remember it or not but it’s all genuine. That guy would call her, show up there, I’m told that he still keeps in touch with the family. There was nothing fake or contrived about how he handled that situation and how that family feels about him. You see things like this when ESPN does “my wish” but this went on for what was left of her life (and still to this day). He’s a world class human being. We should all hope that our children grow up to be like him. https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-news/remembering-sophia-sophia-the-fierce-benintende

 

 

He, his dad and uncle are an enigmatic bunch.   There are people that swear they are fantastic human beings and at the same time you have self-destructive issues with the law and coachability problems.    Kaiir's self destructiveness is just a bit more 1st world than the prior generation who grew up with less.   It's great that he is so kind/compassionate/caring for those less fortunate than he.   You find people like that at all socio-economic levels.   From the upstanding to the most criminal.   That's just one aspect of their humanity.

 

What's applicable here is that Kaiir just didn't make the effort for his employer, his teammates or the fans in Buffalo.   It's one thing to struggle to win a starting job it's another to then not even feel compelled to contribute on special teams.   That caused a spiral here because they couldn't activate a backup DB who wouldn't play ST's.   He alienated himself because he refused to do the dirty work and earn those opportunities to cover receivers every week.   He was already financially set from that first contract and he knew he'd get another shot elsewhere because he was a first round pick so he didn't feel compelled to lower himself to the level of a guy like Ja' Marcus Ingram.   Now he's basically a 6th round pick for the Cowboys so I expect him to re-adjust his expectations of himself.

[Ethan in Cleveland]

I've been rewatching all the 2024 games. Elam was awful every chance he got. I defended him a lot on this board but he played his way off the roster. 

[Mister Defense]

Just sour grapes from Elam so I really do hope he is the starting corner for Dallas this year. Let's see him put his money where his mouth is.

 

I only wish the Bills played the girls this season, as it will be fun with or without elam, but more fun with the guy.

 

This coaching staff takes okay/decent CB prospects and turns them into starters, and sometimes stars.  So I am not betting on Elam blossoming this year, playing for a much lesser team and organization. Despite his laughable comments.

 

The good thing about the big miss with him is that the Bills likely upped their preparation for this and last years' drafts considerably.  Looks like, on paper at least, they may now have high end talent at most of the CB positions.  We will see soon how it comes together on the field.

 

Bishop runs a 4.4, Hairston a 4.29, both hopefully replacing Hamlin (a 4.63 40) and Douglas (4.59).  Should give every Bills' fan hope that they will see a very different secondary this year.  (And Darrick Forrest ran a 4.4.)

 

 

 

Edited 36 minutes ago by Mister Defense