Florida CB Kaiir Elam declares for 2022 NFL Draft

The son and nephew of former-NFL safeties Abram Elam and Matt Elam, respectively, Kaiir Elam is going pro. The University of Florida cornerback announced in a video posted to his Twitter account that he is forgoing his final two years of eligibility in order to take the next step.

Elam went into Gainesville as a top-100 recruit out of The Benjamin School near Palm Beach, Fla. He wasted no time playing in all 13 games as a true freshman and earning five starts. From there Elam took over the starting cornerback position and became a leader on the Gators defense. Elam totaled three interceptions in 2021, demonstrating the ball skills that NFL teams look for in a first-round cornerback.

Elam has prototypical size and length at the position and is viewed in many circles as a potential day one pick. Dane Brugler of the The Athletic has Elam as the fifth-best corner in the draft class and picked him to go 20th overall as the third cornerback off the board in his mock of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Elam hopes to follow in the footsteps of his uncle and become a first-round draft pick and then follow his father and become an NFL starter. That journey will start in March with the NFL Scouting Combine, where Elam will try to show the NFL evaluators that he’s ready for the next level of play.