Raiders Season Review: Divine Deablo
Even before the 2021 NFL Draft commenced, talk on former Virginia Tech safety Divine Deablo was that he could see a position change to linebacker.
It was an easy prediction to make due to Deablo's size, being at 6-3 and 226 pounds, and when he was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders, that's just what happened.
Being behind established veterans like Denzel Perryman and Cory Littleton meant Deablo wouldn't get much playing time early on.
Deablo made his mark on special teams for much of the season, but once injuries impacted the Raiders linebacking corps late in the season, Deablo got his opportunity to start.
Deablo finished the season with 45 total tackles, one for a loss, one pass breakup, and a fumble recovery, with five starts in all 17 games.
He showed he still has a ways to go in coverage, allowing nine catches on 13 targets for a 105 quarterback rating.
It was against the run where Deablo made his best impact, finishing with the 14th best run defense grade from Pro Football Focus.
That allowed Deablo to finish 2021 ranked above average overall among the league's linebackers, according to PFF, albeit coming with limited snaps.
With veterans like Perryman and K.J. Wright slated to be free agents this offseason, Deablo could find himself in line to compete for a starting spot as soon as next season.
If he is, he will have to prove the promising play he showed at the end of last year can translate with a full workload.
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