There’s always a lot of pressure on first-round rookies in the NFL. The one on the Buffalo Bills, Kaiir Elam, is feeling that.
In Week 5 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Bills won in a 38-3 rout. One of the few downers was Elam’s play.
He did have his first-career interception, but according to Pro Football Focus, Elam gave up 10 catches on 13 targets for 126 yards. Elam made it known after the game that was on his mind. He said he graded himself an “F-minus” against Pittsburgh.
A few days later, he has since change his tune. A slightly better grade, but he’s still pledging to be better.
“Honestly, I just expect a lot from myself, because I know how hard I work,” Elam said. “I did everything to prepare to go out there and have a great game, and I feel like I didn’t, so I’ve just got to keep working and make sure I never have a game like that ever again.”
Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott acknowledged Elam’s struggles as well. He said via video conference that there were negatives that could be taken away from the Steelers win despite the final score.
While that might sound harsh, the coach is still confident in the rookie.
“Kaiir will continue to work and we’ve got to make sure we’re putting players in position to be successful,” McDermott said. “I think we are at times, and there’s times we can do a better job, too. Kaiir will continue to learn. There are things we’ll go back and watch, I know the guys in that locker room and the coaches as well feel like ‘’hey, there’s some more left on the table that we get to go back to work and make the adjustments that we need to make more than anything.’ I think same with Kaiir in this case.”
Truthfully, that’s really all the Bills can do–Especially ahead of their next game. Buffalo visits Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Bills defense will need to slow him down if they are going to win–Elam included.
But that’s not to say there isn’t a reason to trust him. Elam knows he can play better than he did against the Steelers because he has. We’ve seen it against the Baltimore Ravens and others early this year.
The Bills need that Elam to show up in KC.
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