Earlier in the offseason, the Dallas Cowboys decided to take a chance and trade for former first-round pick Kaiir Elam, who had the bust label all over him after disappointing in three seasons with the Buffalo Bills. Sometimes, landing with a new team is all it takes to get a player to come out of his shell in the NFL and the Cowboys are hoping that's the case with Elam.
Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report predicted that Elam will be the Cowboys' summer breakout candidate. Cowboys fans would be elated if this was the case but what was Ballentine's reasoning?
"Elam is going to have the opportunity to prove himself over the summer. Both Trevon Diggs and third-round pick Shavon Revel Jr. are working their way back from ACL injuries and Elam is already making plays in OTAs. Elam's first-round pedigree could start to shine through in Matt Eberflus' defense. That would be huge as the Cowboys have to find a way to get through the early part of the season when Diggs and Revel might still be getting back to full speed."
Kaiir Elam might be Cowboys' summer breakout star
As Ballentine touched on in his blurb, Trevon Diggs and Shavon Revel Jr. are still trying to come back from ACL injuries. While fans obviously want to see those guys healthy and ready to go, their absences have given Elam a chance to show what he can do.
Elam, a first-round pick by Buffalo in 2022, was a huge letdown for the Bills, only starting 12 games in three years (and appearing in 29 total) and failing to live up to his draft stock. Things just never clicked for him in Buffalo but the hope is that in Dallas with Matt Eberflus, things will be different. Hopefully, what we've seen from Elam in OTAs isn't just a smokescreen and the guy can really play.
A guy's career shouldn't be based off of what he does in OTAs (especially one like Elam who hasn't lived up to his potential quite yet) but Cowboys fans would much rather see positive production from Elam in OTAs than negative production. Let's see if he can continue bringing that fire to training camp and then preseason and then the regular season.
If he can, this trade could be one that goes down as an absolute steal for the Cowboys.