Commanders latest prospect visit used on potential first-round cornerback

Each year prior to the NFL Draft, teams are allotted 30 prospect visits.

For some clubs, these visits are used to further interview prospects whom they’re serious about drafting. For others, they’re used for sending smokescreens and alleviating health concerns if a prospect couldn’t participate in the Combine.

For the Washington Commanders, they’ve used the majority of their visits on offensive linemen, wide receivers, running backs and safeties. Those are clearly the biggest needs, but fans have been puzzled as to why the team hadn’t met with a cornerback considering draft night is less than two weeks away.

That changed on Thursday, however, as Ben Standig of The Athletic reported the Commanders hosted Florida cornerback Kaiir Elam.

The Commanders hosted Florida CB Kaiir Elam on Thursday.

As Standig notes, Dane Brugler, The Athletic’s foremost draft expert, has Elam pegged as his No. 45-ranked prospect. Not only are the Commanders thin in their defensive backfield, but they own the No. 47 overall pick in the second round.

Of course, that could mean nothing in the grand scheme of things, as some mocks have Elam going as high as the mid-20s.

While Brugler’s latest seven-round mock has the former Gator going to Kansas City at No. 29 overall, ESPN’s Mel Kiper mocked Elam to the Bengals with the No. 35 and CBS Sports projected Elam to Buffalo at No. 25 overall.

Whether Elam gets drafted in Round 1 or not, the Commanders meeting with him suggests they’re interested, and it’s easy to see why that’s the case. At 6-foot-2 with 4.4 speed and a 37.5-inch vertical, Elam possesses the three most coveted traits (size, length and speed) teams look for in cornerbacks.

Elam became a starter for Florida as a true freshman in 2019. Since then, he posted the lowest passer rating (55.6) among Power 5 cornerbacks. Pretty impressive for someone who consistently locked horns with the country’s top WRs.

The one knock on Elam is his propensity to commit penalties, as he was flagged seven times over 10 games last season. Still just 20 years old, though, the Florida product will learn to trust his instincts and not get touchy at the top of routes.

At the end of the day, Elam, who’s lanky frame has drawn comparisons to former All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler Xavier Rhodes when he was coming out of Florida State back in 2013, has the ideal build to match up against X receivers and a track record of success against future NFL receivers.

Elam might not have the versatility of some other defensive backs in this year’s draft, but he has future lockdown CB written all over him.