Have the Buffalo Bills found another Day 3 gem via the NFL Draft? It sure feels like that’s the case with rookie linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr, even if it’s wise to pump the brakes as players have yet to put on pads at training camp. Still, when speaking of Elarms-Orr, it’s difficult not to get excited about his talent and potential, and the opportunity continuously staring him in the face.
The Bills are implementing a new 3-4 base defense favored by first-time NFL defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.
A former Bills safety in his playing days, Leonhard comes in seeking to attack opponents. It’s a sizeable paradigm shift to many players who, for many years, operated out of former head coach Sean McDermott’s discipline-based, zone-heavy “Buffalo Nickel” system.
Among those carryovers from McDermott’s tenure are presumptive starting inside linebackers Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams. When healthy, both players have given the Bills plenty of production on defense. The caveat is of course the matter of health, where both have seen more than their fair share of injuries.
In fact, Bernard and Williams are currently under a workload management plan because of injuries. For Bernard, he’s coming off surgery earlier this offseason to repair a serious ankle injury sustained during the 2025 NFL season — something that slowed down last season’s lone defensive captain, limiting his previously explosive nature all season. As for Williams, he sustained an injury during Organized Team Activities (OTAs), and was seen using crutches. Williams revealed at the start of this season’s training camp that he suffered a bilateral knee fracture, which implies that both knees were affected.
Add it all up, and the grass sure does seem pretty green right now for a savvy first-year linebacker looking to leave a good impression on his coaches. That’s precisely what Elarms-Orr has done since being drafted by One Bills Drive 126th overall in Round 4.
It was a bit of a surprise that Elarms-Orr dropped so far this past April given the pre-draft buzz he generated. It probably surprised Buffalo’s key decision makers too, who played their hand well in landing him fairly late in the process. In fact, Elarms-Orr was the only linebacker Buffalo selected in the draft.
A heady, instinctual, bona fide sideline-to-sideline linebacker, the 2025 First Team All-Big 12 honors TCU linebacker clearly piqued the Bills’ interest, hosting him on a Top-30 pre-draft visit. In the draft’s lead-up, many wondered if Elarms-Orr would be selected with Buffalo’s top pick this past April. To this point, it’s a move that’s paid off well for the team.
Whether during minicamps or OTAs, Elarms-Orr has turned heads with his depth of knowledge, especially so in terms of Leonhard who’s praised his on-field efficiency and the ability to almost always be in the right spot for the defense. Earlier this spring Leonhard pointed out to reporters that Elarms-Orr picked up the defense well off the bat, even showing well in a communication role while controlling the huddle.
No one can deny that Elarms-Orr has taken advantage of the massive opportunity presented to him during the spring and early summer, which Leonhard pointed out in an early press conference.
He’ll have to earn every snap but Elarms-Orr hasn’t looked back since picking up the ball, having seen run with the defensive ones beginning with those early sessions and now continuing to do so with the first week of training camp now in the books. He’s been observed working long after practice ends to refine his technique and claim as many reps as possible toward making an immediate impact in his first season. Dating back to those OTA sessions, Elarms-Orr told Ian Mills of News10NBC that he “want(s) to be the starter Week 1.”
Like any rookie, every day provides a new chance for Elarms-Orr to learn and develop. On Day 3 of training camp this past Saturday, Elarms-Orr was lined up at starting MIKE with Bernard at starting WILL for team drills. Then later, it was Dorian Williams in at starting MIKE alongside Bernard at WILL for 7-on-7 work.
Though Williams is now healthy, it’s reasonable to expect that Buffalo’s new defensive coaching staff isn’t resting on its laurels while trying to find the best players to fit their intended scheme. There’s still much left for Elarms-Orr to learn, which is of course true for any Bills defender making the transition to play in Leonhard’s system.
That Elarms-Orr has come in with such drive, determination, and on-field physicality speaks to his innate abilities. The valuable experience Elarms-Orr’s gained early in the process should only pay dividends — if not now, then perhaps down the road but sooner than many could have predicted.
Beyond Bernard, Williams, and Elarms-Orr, the Bills are relatively thin at linebacker. The room is rounded out by Joe Andreessen, Jimmy Ciarlo, Theron Gaines, Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, and Keonta Jenkins. Neither among veteran linebackers Matt Milano or Shaq Thompson have been re-signed despite both playing significant roles in 2025. In a vacuum, the current linebacker room seems to paint a fairly clear path to potentially substantial playing time for Elarms-Orr.
The football world knows that one play can change everything, which means health and availability is likely to be among the main factors in picking a starting pair among Bernard, Williams, and Elarms-Orr. There are three preseason exhibitions to get through, and it’s likely that trio sees extended run with the ones to properly diagnose the team’s starting linebacker prospects.
When the dust settles, could Elarm-Orr be in line to wear a green dot as a rookie? If so, it’s something that hasn’t happened since 2018, when the Bills drafted linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.
