What role will Kaiir Elam play in 2025?
It is no secret that the cornerback position was a major concern for the Dallas Cowboys in 2024. With injuries to DaRon Bland, Trevon Diggs, and Josh Butler, the Cowboys were left with Andrew Booth and Amani Oruwariye playing a lot of snaps at corner throughout the 2024 season.
With Jourdan Lewis’ departure in free agency, the Cowboys were in a scary spot again at corner, but trading for Kaiir Elam and the drafting of Shavon Revel Jr. gives the Cowboys more capable options at corner. Revel is currently still rehabbing an ACL tear he suffered early in the 2024 season at East Carolina. So it is unclear if he will be ready for the start of the season. Along with Revel, Trevon Diggs is rehabbing a knee injury and could miss time in 2025.
That is where Kaiir Elam comes into play. Elam is heading into year four of his young NFL career, after being drafted in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills. So far, Elam has been a disappointment in Buffalo, and the Cowboys made a low-risk, high-reward trade for Elam earlier in the offseason. Elam and the Cowboys are hoping a change of scenery will jumpstart his career. He was a high-quality player at Florida which landed him in the first round.
Elam has size, length, and above average athleticism. He received an impressive 8.64 relative athletic score (RAS) after his testing leading up to the 2022 NFL draft. Coming out of college, Elam had all the tools to project as a quality starting cornerback on the boundary in the NFL. Elam’s inability to get on the field, and struggles when he did get on the field in Buffalo, led to him spending most of his time on the sideline over the last two years. So far this offseason, Elam has said and done all the right things. With the Cowboys electing to not pick up his fifth-year option, both the Cowboys and Elam have a big opportunity in 2025.
Elam will likely see plenty of playing time in 2025 in Matt Eberflus defense. Due to the injuries to Diggs and Revel, Elam could be pushed into a starter’s role early on in the season. Elam will have plenty of opportunities to prove himself and possibly get a decent payday in 2026 if he performs well. For the Cowboys, Elam is an upgrade over what the Cowboys had down the depth chart in 2025. Elam is due just $2.5 million in 2025 and he was acquired with a day three pick-swap.
While Elam has been a disappointment so far in his career, 2025 will provide both Elam and the Cowboys plenty of chances to prove themselves.
