When the [autotag]Buffalo Bills[/autotag] selected cornerback Kaiir Elam in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft, it marked the third-straight year that Florida football placed one of its players in the opening round of professional football’s biggest offseason event.
In fact, save for the 2019 edition that saw UF shut out, the Orange and Blue have had first-round representatives dating back to 2013, when Elam’s uncle Matt was taken with the final pick of the round along with Sharif Floyd. The previous defensive back to go in the first round was [autotag]CJ Henderson[/autotag] in 2020, and before him, it was both [autotag]Vernon Hargreaves III[/autotag] and [autotag]Keanu Neal[/autotag] who got the first-round call in 2016.
Elam comes into his rookie campaign with sky-high expectations, as many believe he will make an immediate impact on the field for the Bills. Buffalo took a bit of a risk on him as a player obviously gifted with athletic talent but simply did not put up first-round numbers in his time at Florida. He will have every chance to make his mark at the highest level of the sport this coming season.
Take a look below at a handful of highlights from the past few months as Florida’s latest claim to DBU gets ready for his highly-anticipated rookie campaign.