The Buffalo Bills drafted Kaleb Elarms-Orr in the fourth round, adding a potential fix for a struggling linebacker unit. Buffalo entered the 2026 NFL Draft with a visible hole at inside linebacker, and on Day 3 in Pittsburgh, general manager Brandon Beane moved to fill it. With the No. 126 overall pick in the fourth round â their second consecutive selection after taking wide receiver Skyler Bell at No. 125 â Buffalo landed TCU linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr, a 6-foot-2, 234-pound athlete who led the Big 12 in tackles during his final college season.
The position is not a small concern. The Sporting News identified linebacker as a position of major need for Buffalo. Beane left the linebacker unit largely ignored in free agency, and the depth behind starter Terrel Bernard, locked up long-term on an extension, was thin enough to demand action before training camp. A late-round pick with elite production and combine traits, Elarms-Orr gives Buffalo a chance to stabilize a thin position quickly.
Kaleb Elarms-Orr’s Path to the 2026 NFL Draft
Elarms-Orr’s road to the fourth round was anything but smooth. A four-star prospect out of Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward, California, he tore his ACL before arriving at Cal, forcing a redshirt year in 2021. He spent 2022 on special teams before earning a starting role in 2023, producing 92 tackles, five pass breakups, a sack, and an interception against a Pac-12 schedule featuring Caleb Williams, Bo Nix, and Michael Penix Jr.
When the Pac-12 imploded, he passed through the transfer portal, ending up at Texas Christian University, where he played 13 games without a start in 2024. But his 2025 season erased any doubts. Starting every game for the Horned Frogs, he led the Big 12 with 130 tackles, including 11 tackles for loss and four sacks. He delivered back-to-back 15-plus-tackle games against Baylor and West Virginia. He capped the year by winning Alamo Bowl Defensive MVP honors and earned first-team All-Big 12 recognition.
Elarms-Orr described his motivation in an interview with Sports Illustrated‘s Justin Melo.
“I didn’t start when I first arrived at TCU,” he said. “I had a huge chip on my shoulder. I wanted to show everyone what I was all about. I worked hard on a daily basis.”
Kaleb Elarms-Orr’s Athleticism Makes Him a Bills Fit
The combine numbers drove his stock. Elarms-Orr finished second among all linebackers in both the 40-yard dash and vertical jump, posting a 4.47 in the 40 and a 40-inch vertical, a combination most prospects at the position rarely produce, according to Bleacher Report‘s Matt Holder.
The Athletic‘s Joe Buscaglia noted translatable traits across all three linebacker evaluation categories: run defense, coverage, and blitzing. Special teams could be a built-in safety net if Elarms-Orr does not win a starting job in 2026.
However, some developmental concerns come with the pick. Elarms-Orr lacks the anchor strength to consistently stack and shed NFL blockers, and his zone-drop processing has allowed receivers to find openings too regularly, according to scouting reports. Scouts project him as a core special-teams contributor in year one, with situational defensive snaps in heavy packages as his near-term ceiling.
Buffalo was flagged by Sharp Football Analysis as being in a rough spot at linebacker entering draft weekend. Elarms-Orr gives the Bills a high-motor athlete with the combine profile Beane targets in later rounds. A player who earned his opportunity the hard way, Elarms-Orr arrives in Buffalo with something left to prove.
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