ORCHARD PARK — A conversation with Kaleb Elarms-Orr about his jersey number brought visions of a movie scene.
In Friday Night Lights — a film based on H.G. Bissinger’s 1988 book — Derek Luke’s Boobie Miles character was ranting and raving about how it was necessary to wear black Nike cleats to look good on the field. After being prodded, Lee Jackson, portraying the stoic Ivory Christian, finally said, “I could knock you out in a pair of flip flops.”
Elarms-Orr was given No. 52 after being selected in the fourth round by the Buffalo Bills in April. He was afforded the option of choosing his number, but 52 was on his list if he did have the chance.
It’s, of course, a traditional linebacker number, but 50s haven’t been popular choices since the NFL relaxed numerical rules in 2021. In fact, Elarms-Orr is one of three inside linebackers on the roster with a number in the 50s.
Elarms-Orr knew he couldn’t wear No. 3 — which he wore at TCU — and center Lloyd Cushenberry III already took No. 53, which he wore to start his college career at California. But Elarms-Orr couldn’t quite pinpoint why he liked No. 52 and he gave up thinking about it.
“I’ll wear No. 79,” he said. “I don’t care.”
Elarms-Orr is rarely going to make himself the center of attention by cracking jokes or being boisterous in the locker room. He doesn’t have much to say.
But his pads are loud. And they make a lot of noise when he hurls his body into a ball carrier.
“I’m looking to knock guys back,” Elarms-Orr told GNN Sports. “My main thing is no extra yardage. You can hit a guy and he might fall and tumble for extra yards. So just knocking guys back and getting dues on the ground for minimal gain is definitely something I try to value.”
During the NFL Draft, the Bills public relations staff hands out cheat sheets on every pick made by the team. It’s filled with statistics, awards and other notable items. Atop Elarms-Orr’s sheet read, “TCU linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr is a man of few words.”
That dates back to his days at Moreau Catholic in Hayward, California, where his quiet nature frustrated his coaches early in his career. He shows natural emotion after big plays, but he wasn’t interested in giving rah-rah speeches to teammates.
But they saw his athleticism and physicality early. As a defensive end, Elarms-Orr dominated as a sophomore, racking up 104 tackles, 17 tackles for a loss and 15 sacks. The coaches knew it was coming from practices.
“Nobody wanted to block him,” then-Moreau Catholic coach Rob Gatrell said. “Nobody could block him.”
Athletic enough to play wide receiver and physical enough to play tight end, Gatrell also used him as an edge rusher because he was bigger, tougher and stronger than anyone else on the team.
Elarms-Orr’s senior season was pushed to the spring because of Covid-19 and he tore his ACL in the season opener, which caused him to miss his freshman season at California.
He finally moved into the starting lineup three years into his college career, tallying 92 tackles in 2023 before transferring to TCU for two seasons. In his final year for the Horned Frogs, Elarms-Orr made a whopping 130 tackles, including three games with at least 15.
And he did it all without saying much.
“I think he’s just focused,” said Gatrell, who spent the 2000 season on the New England Patriots practice squad as an offensive lineman and 2001 training camp with the San Francisco 49ers. “I think he knows what he wants to accomplish and I think he’s just going to work as hard as he can to do it. … We say talk is cheap and I think that’s just his mentality and approach.”
With an increased desire to add players who seek the sport’s violence on the field, Elarms-Orr was a natural fit for the vision of general manager Brandon Beane and new coach Joe Brady.
But NFL rules have largely taken hitting out of practice, and aside from a few opportunities during training camp, Elarms-Orr won’t get a legitimate chance to show his physicality until preseason games.
However, Elarms-Orr’s other attributes excite defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard. The willingness to be a feared hitter might be a mindset, but actually being a ferocious hitter requires explosiveness.
Elarms-Orr can show off his 4.47-second 40-yard dash and 40-inch vertical jump during practices, along with his football instincts. With starting middle linebacker Terrel Bernard held out of team drills following ankle surgery and presumed starter Dorian Williams out for undisclosed reasons, Elarms-Orr has gotten significant action with the first team during voluntary minicamps.
“He’s a very efficient mover. So it’s really cool to watch him, whether he knows it or not,” Leonhard said. “I think he’s in the right spot the majority of the time. He’s got a really good feel for the game. … He’s done an excellent job of picking up the defense and being able to communicate early on. So excited for him to grow as a player and see what he can do.”
As a fourth-round pick, there’s no rush to insert Elarms-Orr into the starting lineup. Beane likened his skill set to Williams’s after the draft and they are likely to be in direct competition for a starting role next to Bernard during training camp.
The winner of that job is likely to be the player who can play all three downs the best. Williams has struggled at times in pass coverage during his first three seasons, but has a nose for the ball.
Elarms-Orr had a similar scouting report in college, but the Bills feel like he has the range and instincts to improve.
“You see him run, chase, make plays away,” Bills assistant general manager Brian Gaine said. “He’s got athletic range. All those traits we think early on should, at the very least, translate to fourth down participation and be a special teams contributor.”
And if he does make an impact, he won’t be the first to say it.
“I speak with my actions,” Elarms-Orr said. “Not my words.”