Background

Kaleb Elarms-Orr grew up in Hayward, California, and attended Moreau Catholic High School, where he was a two-way player at linebacker and tight end. A three-star recruit, he committed to the University of California, Berkeley, and played in 21 games across his first two seasons. He broke out in 2023 with an All-Pac 12 Second Team selection at Cal before entering the transfer portal and landing at TCU. He played in all 13 games during his first season with the Horned Frogs in 2024, recording 54 tackles and 2 sacks behind starters Namdi Obiazor and Johnny Hodges as TCU finished 9-4 and won the New Mexico Bowl. In his senior year in 2025, he started all 13 games and posted a career-high 130 tackles and 60 solo stops with 11 TFL, 4 sacks, and 2 pass breakups, earning First-Team All-Big 12. He declared for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Physical Attributes

Elarms-Orr is quick. His ability to close down a play is one of his highlight abilities because of that. His ability to work laterally and change direction hampers him in tight spaces, especially as he is reliant on staying unblocked. When blocked, he finds it really difficult to disengage because of that lack of strength and size.

Data and Tape Analysis

If you are unfamiliar with my LB radar charts, you can find more information here

Kaleb Elarms-Orr relies a lot on his athleticism to make plays. The good news is that his athleticism is good enough to carry him to the next level. The bad news is that there are a lot more athletes like him he will have to face in the NFL versus the Big XII.

Let's start out positively, if I can muster that for a Horned Frog. His tackling is excellent. His arms are not the longest, and he is not very strong, but he has a great sense of when to time his tackle and where to aim. It helps that his speed allows him to get in close quarters to increase his likelihood of success. There was one play I watched against Cincy where I needed to double-check what I saw because I still am not sure how Elarms-Orr got the RB to the ground when he should've been free.

His tackling is the best contribution he has to the run game, but outside of that I am not sure I agree with PFF for two reasons. His identification of which gap to sit in is often wrong, and he tends to sit back and let the play come to him instead of trying to go make the play.

That is the second thing and is my biggest gripe. At the start of nearly every play, Elarms-Orr just sits there. I do not know if it is defensive design or just how he plays, but his LB mates on TCU did not also do this. I do not think this is bad in isolation, cannot take a false step if you don't step, but if you are not moving towards anything and then react late, like he does, then you are just giving unnecessary ground to the offense. It is strange, and I do not think I have seen anything like it.

As a blitzer, Elarms-Orr is all speed. If Elarms-Orr finds a gap, he will get home quick, but if blockers stop him, that's the end of the play.

Grade and Outlook

I am an SMU alum, so I am biased here, but I do not see a lot outside of athleticism as it stands for Elarms-Orr right now. That gives him a good special teams floor at the least when combined with his tackling, but I think the hope is that he uses his time as a rotational LB2 to better learn the position, because I know he was not getting much help in Fort Worth the past few years.

Grade: 4.3 (4th Rounder)