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Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff Writer
HENDERSON, Nev. — The play seemed innocent enough, Divine Deablo combining with Denzel Perryman to bring down Travis Etienne Jr. after a 7-yard run on the Las Vegas Raiders’ second defensive snap in Jacksonville last Nov. 6.
But Deablo’s right forearm had been caught between Etienne’s and Perryman’s helmets on the play and, after being helped off the field, Deablo would not return. And not for just the game, but the entire season. One in which the linebacker was not only leading the Raiders in tackles at the time with 74, but he was also tied for eighth in the NFL.
“I didn’t think my arm was broken,” Deablo said last week during mandatory minicamp. “The X-ray came and it turned out to be broken. Of course I was down, I was sad … I knew I was going to miss the rest of the season, but I saw it as an opportunity.
“I just studied the game; I worked harder and this offseason I stayed here the whole time just in hopes that it will work out on the field.”
Deablo not only added 13 pounds of muscle to his 6-foot-3 frame to get up to 238 pounds — defensive coordinator Patrick Graham calls him ‘Big Swole’ — but he also been rewarded for his commitment, as he is wearing the green dot helmet as the defensive playcaller for a unit in need of playmakers and leaders as it enters Year 2 under Graham and coach Josh McDaniels.
Not bad for a third-round pick out of Virginia Tech in 2021 who is a converted safety coming off a season-ending injury, right?
“I’m really fond of Divine,” McDaniels said. “I think he knows that, and we’ve given them a lot of responsibility. … Divine has grown literally every week since I’ve seen him and known him. He works really hard at the game of football. I think he’s embraced this year as a year that is a growth year for him, not only on the field in terms of what he does on the field, but also how he can impact others.”
Deablo, who found 238 pounds to be too heavy and dropped down to 234 in minicamp, has taken to being more than a sponge this offseason; he’s expending lessons.
“With knowledge comes that confidence in yourself and also the confidence to tell your teammates if they ask a question,” McDaniels said. “Last year, I know we had a few younger players where somebody would ask them a question and there would be crickets, and that’s a bad feeling if you’re the guy asking the question. So, Divine knows a lot more, he understands the whole scope of the defense. We’re trying to get him to learn it from that perspective so he can help others.”
That a guy entering just his third NFL season is the most tenured player in the Raiders’ linebacker room speaks volumes. Then again, he was not shy about speaking his mind as a rookie as after a 48-9 blowout loss at the Kansas City Chiefs in December 2021.
“Personally, I feel like a lot of people would just, lack of a better term, just fold,” Deablo said that day. “They’ll just lay down and come to practice, not ready to practice. I know I’m a rookie, but I don’t want my teammates to do that. I’m going to make sure they’re ready to practice and we bring that intensity every day.”
For what it’s worth, that was Deablo’s first career start. And in the wake of Deablo’s post-game call out, Las Vegas ran off four straight wins following that loss to the Chiefs to force their way into the playoffs, just the Raiders’ second postseason appearance since 2002.
Yeah, the Raiders defense in general, the LB corps in particular, could use that kind of leadership and motivation.
“There was stuff [Deablo] was working on last year — communication, leadership — the athletic ability is there,” Graham said. “He learned how to be a linebacker in this league. The beauty of it is he has Antonio Pierce in his room as his coach, who’s one of the best to ever do it, in my opinion. And he knows how to do it at a championship level. I mean, he’s just soaking that up.”
Las Vegas signed five-year veteran Robert Spillane in free agency from the Pittsburgh Steelers and drafted Amari Burney in the sixth round out of Florida while returning Darien Butler and Luke Masterson and re-signing Curtis Bolton.
Not exactly Ted Hendricks, Matt Millen and Rod Martin, but it’s what Deablo and the Raiders have to work with as they close out OTAs and prep for training camp at the end of July. All with Deablo, whose 9.25 tackles per game ranked 11th in the league, wearing a certain badge of honor after studying the play of standout linebackers like Fred Warner and Shaquille Leonard during his rehab.
“[I am] a lot more confident than I was last year,” Deablo said. “Last year, I was the new kid on the block. I was nervous. It was my first year in [Graham’s] system. So now, I’m more comfortable. I’ve been doing it for a while now, so yeah, I’m ready.
“Honestly, it makes myself proud because when I was younger, I played quarterback. So now being the green dot is like quarterback of the defense, so it puts a smile on my face.”