Las Vegas Raiders: Grading the 7-player 2021 NFL Draft class
Las Vegas Raiders: Grading the 7-player 2021 NFL Draft class
Round 3: No. 80 – Divine Deablo, S/LB, Virginia Tech
Just after selecting Malcolm Koonce, the Raiders used the 80th overall pick on Divine Deablo out of Virginia Tech. Deablo is a versatile defender who was used as a hybrid rover with the Hokies but projects as a weakside LB at the NFL level.
Deablo is a physical specimen at 6-3, 226lbs and ran a 4.44 40 at his pro day. He likens his game to former Legion of Boom member Kam Chancellor and hopes that Gus Bradley utilizes him in the same way. The Raiders could see him as an immediate special teams contributor and back up to Cory Littleton but his future position is still up in the air and that is both exciting and worrisome.
The Raiders made a similar pick in 2020 with Tanner Muse but Deablo looks to be a better athlete than the former Clemson Tiger. Having them both with their combination of size and speed could be a boon for the Raiders defense but they will both have to learn the complexities of an NFL defense and a new position at the same time.
At least the Raiders will know what not to do when it comes to their development as they learned plenty of lessons from Muse’s failed rookie season.