The Las Vegas Raiders should have big changes at linebacker this offseason, but is second-year player Divine Deablo ready to take the next step forward.
When the Raiders selected Divine Deablo in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft and proclaimed him as a linebacker, after playing safety in college, it seemed like a head-scratching move. The Raiders were already committed heavily to three veteran linebackers in 2021 with Nicholas Morrow, Cory Littleton, and Nick Kwiatkowski all set to return as starters on big contracts.
The third round of the draft is also a time where teams can often find cheap starters to fill out their team, so why did the Raiders select a project safety who wouldn’t play more than special teams his rookie year? Well, the raw athleticism was too good to pass up.
When Deablo was drafted and it was announced that he would transition to linebacker, there was an eerily similar comparison to Tanner Muse, the Raiders 2020 3rd round pick who was looking to do the same and was lost during training camp and missed the season with an injury. The transition is a difficult one to make and while Deablo’s athleticism made it possible, he was entering a whole new environment.
Deablo has good size for a linebacker at 6-3, 226 pounds. However, the mental game seems to be there for him too. He rarely gets lost and is a quick decision-maker. In college, he lined up all over the place and was a star.
Deablo missed much of the offseason workouts and training camp with an injury but still made the team over Muse, a player with a similar investment. With Morrow injured and the additions of Denzel Perryman and K.J. Wright in camp, there was no spot for a Muse after the coaching staff had soured on him. This left Deablo as a primary backup with Kwiatkowski but also as a special teams ace, a role he excelled in.
As Deablo spent much of the season learning the position, he saw minor stints on the field in relief at both linebacker and safety and displayed his speed and agility. However, it wasn’t until Monday night in Cleveland when Deablo shined.
Former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley grew tired of Littleton’s ineffectiveness and with Perryman banged up, he called on Deablo. Deablo first played in Washington the previous week, but in Cleveland he showed up as a rookie ready for his moment. He fully supplanted Littleton moving forward and didn’t look scared or overwhelmed going against a run-first team.
Deablo was supposed to excel in pass coverage, but his play in the run was impressive.
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With Morrow, Littleton, Kwiatkowski, and Wright all likely leaving this offseason, Deablo is set to remain the starting WILL linebacker next to Perryman. Patrick Graham is also a schematically great coach who should get even more out of Deablo. Players often make their biggest jump from their first to second years and if Deablo can make the leap, the Raiders could potentially have another Pro Bowl level linebacker.