Las Vegas Raiders rookies: What each draft pick will struggle with in 2021
Divine Deablo could struggle with moving to linebacker at the pro level
As was the case with Tanner Muse during the 2020 NFL Draft, the Las Vegas Raiders have drafted a collegiate safety and will be moving him to linebacker as a rookie. This year, that safety is Divine Deablo, an extremely talented player from Virginia Tech, who will be fighting it out for the fourth-linebacker spot as a rookie.
With Nicholas Morrow, Cory Littleton, and Nick Kwiatkoski starting in Gus Bradley’s Base 4-3 defense, the Raiders are looking for who is going to step up if one of them goes down. Behind the three starters are three Wild Card players, including both Muse and Deablo, who both need to step up this summer.
For Deablo, the transition to the pro game is hard enough, and when you couple that with changing positions, this could make for an interesting first season in the NFL. He has the physical gifts you need to play the position, but as is the case with any rookie, growing pains are coming, but he should be able to figure it out as the season rolls along.