Brandon Beane was careful not to get emotional when asked about trading 2022 first-round pick Kaiir Elam.
The cornerback played for the Buffalo Bills for three seasons, amassing nearly as many starts (13 including playoffs) as healthy scratches (12). There were moments his talent showed why Beane traded up to take him 23rd overall.
There were also questionable moments, like how Elam went from being a healthy scratch one week to starting the next two, with the reason given being special teams value. It wasn’t for a lack of effort, because Elam was frequently one of the last players off the practice field and fought through an injury in 2023 until it was apparent he couldn’t anymore.
But perhaps the general manager wanted it too much also. Beane rebuffed suitors after trading for Rasul Douglas at the trade deadline in 2023 even when it was becoming clear the coaching staff didn’t view Elam as a fit in their defense.
Getting a fifth-round pick from the Cowboys in return for Elam shows teams around the league still see hope for Elam, considered 2021 second-round pick Boogie Basham netted a future seventh a year ago. Perhaps the Bills could have gotten a fourth if they traded Elam a year earlier, especially when it was clear he wasn’t leapfrogging Douglas or Christian Benford.
It seemed like a struggle between a coaching staff too stubborn to play Elam and a general manager too dug in to move him.
“I made the selection that didn’t work out and I own it,” Beane said Friday. “You don’t want those to happen, but I’m rooting for Kaiir. … The guy worked so hard and I’m confident, maybe a reset. I’m pulling for him.”
Alas, it was a failed pick. It’s one those who question Beane’s success drafting in the early rounds point to.
There’s no question Beane knocked it out of the park with his first two first-rounders, selecting quarterback Josh Allen and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds in 2018. Allen won an NFL MVP, while Edmunds made two Pro Bowls and was briefly the highest-paid linebacker in NFL history, signing a four-year, $72 million deal with the Bears in 2023.
Defensive tackle Ed Oliver, the No. 9 overall pick in 2019, hasn’t shown consistent dominance during his career. But he’s been a notch below the premier defensive tackles in the league, just like 2021 first-round pick Greg Rousseau, both of whom earned hefty extensions.
Thirteen of Beane’s draft picks have signed second contracts with the team. It’s a far cry from 18 of Buffalo’s 139 picks during the 17-year playoff drought from 2000-2016 receiving extensions.
But it’s also fair to point out that Beane has selected 11 players in the first two rounds after his first draft. Running back James Cook, a 2022 second rounder, is the only player to be selected for the Pro Bowl.
Three of those picks, Basham, Elam and 2019 second-round pick Cody Ford, were dealt before the end of their rookie contracts. A 2020 third-round pick, running back Zack Moss, was also traded before the end of his rookie deal, although Beane has had success in the third round, with Dawson Knox, Spencer Brown and Terrel Bernard all getting second contracts.
The Bills have found good players in the draft, some bordering on elite. But Beane hasn’t hit a home run since his first draft.
By contrast, the Chiefs have drafted 12 starters since 2021. Three of those players have been selected All-Pro or to the Pro Bowl, including cornerback Trent McDuffie, who was taken two picks ahead of Elam.
Perhaps it’s unfair to compare one team to the Bills, but the Chiefs are the only team to win more games since 2019. And they have a 4-0 record in head-to-head playoff matchups.
“I think ultimately that is on me,” Beane said. “… Even if the impact was higher, I would want it to be higher than it is. I think ultimately, sometimes you have to let things play out a little bit.”
There is now some trepidation that Beane hasn’t landed a star in the first two days of the last two drafts. O’Cyrus Torrence has started all but one game (the regular-season finale last year) at right guard since being taken in the second round in 2023.
But after the Bills traded up for Dalton Kincaid in the first round the same year and he produced a franchise rookie-record 73 catches, the tight end battled collarbone and knee injuries last year and his total dropped to 44, snagging just 58.7% of his targets in 13 games.
Last season’s top pick (in the second round) Keon Coleman briefly looked worth the pick, but had just seven catches for 139 yards after missing four games with a wrist injury. Head coach Sean McDermott said Coleman had to learn to handle adversity a little better after the season.
Last year’s second-round pick Cole Bishop started four games at safety. Meanwhile, third-rounder DeWayne Carter started to find a groove with four tackles for a loss in four games before being sidelined for five games with wrist surgery, only to be a healthy scratch in Week 16 and all three playoff games.
But perhaps it’s safe to pump the brakes on those concerns because it’s hard for young players to get on the field for good teams. And Kincaid has shown his talent while healthy.
“It’s the players that are ready to play, they play,” McDermott said. “And the players that earn the jobs are usually the ones that are ready to play the most, and they do the best in the preseason. Now, as I’ve said before, there’s a little bit of feet in the ground, a little bit of roots, a little bit of foundation for those that started the year before. So it’s going to take a little bit more to beat those players out.”