Divine
Deablo.
Divine
Deablo.
Virginia Tech· 6'3"· 226 lb· 4.42s 40
"A 6'3", 226-lb Virginia Tech safety with hybrid dime-LB tools — a Round-3 chess-piece projection with limits on true deep-safety range."Pre-draft read
Divine Deablo aligns fluidly, stacked over the ball on early downs and walked down as a robber or slot defender in nickel packages. He occasionally plays deep in dime looks. He triggers against the run with patience, reading guards, keeping his shoulders square, and arriving with reliable form-tackling, a trait from his safety background.
His range and change-of-direction are plus traits, allowing him to cover ground sideline to sideline. He matches tight ends and backs down the seam and drops with feel into curl-flat and hook zones. A persistent limitation is his take-on against pulling guards, as he leverages blocks well but does not consistently stack and shed.
Cover-3 match with three-safety personnel where hybrid defenders are moved around to create favorable matchups against spread offenses.
Rotational sub-package linebacker in year one, with the ceiling to develop into a full-time MIKE and defensive signal-caller by year three.
Gap/duo power run schemes that ask their off-ball linebackers to consistently stack-and-shed against pulling guards.
Divine Deablo is a versatile, long-levered hybrid defender with the coverage instincts and athleticism to excel in modern read-and-react schemes that prioritize speed and flexibility.
Divine Deablo NFL Draft Tape | Virginia Tech DB
Virginia Tech draft tape showing Deablo's safety range, downhill tackling and box/slot projection before the linebacker conversion.
Raiders Draft Grades From Day 2 On Trevon Moehrig, Malcolm Koonce, Divine Deablo | 2021 NFL Draft
Day-2 Raiders draft review covering Deablo's size/speed profile and the hybrid defensive role Las Vegas was buying.
Las Vegas Raiders Select From Malcolm Koonce & Divine Deablo In The 3rd Round Of The 2021 NFL Draft
Draft-night segment pairing Deablo with Koonce and explaining the Raiders' third-round defensive athleticism bet.
Divine Deablo projects as a versatile hybrid defender, offering a rare combination of safety production and modern coverage capabilities at the linebacker position. His prior experience as a safety in college provides a foundation for his instincts and range in coverage, making him an appealing option for schemes that prioritize three-safety personnel.
Deablo arrived at Virginia Tech as a wide receiver before transitioning to defensive back in 2017. He developed into a full-time starter as a junior in 2019, recording 84 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss. His senior year in 2020 showcased his ball skills, as he collected 4 interceptions, leading the ACC. He played in 51 career games with 206 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, 6 interceptions, and 11 pass breakups.
Evaluators consistently projected Deablo as a Day 2 selection, with some placing him in the third-to-fourth-round range. The Las Vegas Raiders selected him with the 80th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, targeting him for a "big nickel/dime linebacker" role, affirming the league's belief in his potential as a hybrid player.
- 01
Positional conversion profile
former Virginia Tech safety projecting to modern nickel/dime linebacker; brings coverage instincts and range that traditional off-ball backers rarely offer.
- 02
Coverage flexibility
real reps in press-slot, hook and curl zones and deep-half assignments; a legitimate chess piece for defenses that live in three-safety nickel.
- 03
Athletic profile
6'3"/226 pounds with sub-4.6 speed; profiles as a rangy sideline-to-sideline defender in space with the size to hold up in the box.
- 04
Ball production
real ball production as a safety (6 career INTs, 4 as a senior to lead the ACC); converts opportunities to takeaways rather than settling for pass breakups.
- 05
Football makeup
team captain at Virginia Tech, praised for film study and communication; low-risk cultural addition with the mental profile of a defensive signal-caller in the making.
- 01
Positional projection uncertainty
some teams grade him as a strong safety, others as a nickel linebacker; the role clarity is not fully settled and depends on scheme fit.
- 02
Take-on and block-shedding
leaner frame gets stacked by climbing offensive linemen; needs to add reliable stack-and-shed technique to hold up as a full-time linebacker.
- 03
Man coverage against slot separators
quickness is average in short-area transitions; can be beaten by twitchy slot separators on quick-hitting whip and option routes.
- 04
Small linebacker sample
first-year full-time linebacker projection with limited college reps at the position; the developmental curve as an off-ball backer is longer than the traits alone suggest.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.42sp50
- Vertical
- 34inp50
- Broad jump
- 126inp50
- Three-cone
- 7.12sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.40sp50
- Bench
- 19repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Virginia Tech | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | Virginia Tech | 4 | 8 | 0.5 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2018 | Virginia Tech | 11 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2019 | Virginia Tech | 13 | 84 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2020 | Virginia Tech | 9 | 55 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Career | — | 51 | 205 | 0.5 | 6 | 11 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Every-down MIKE who racks up tackles and holds up in coverage without game-wrecking traits — closest to what Deablo has actually become after the LB conversion.
Safety-turned-hybrid-LB who started for years as a three-down box/coverage piece — Deablo's ceiling if he keeps starting and stacking pass-defense reps.
Positional-tweener who never settled into a defined NFL role — the risk if the LB conversion had not stuck.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Successful conversion hit. Special-teams core / rotational box safety as a rookie (2021), injury-shortened but productive dime LB in 2022 (74 tackles in 8 starts), full LB conversion in 2023 (career-high 106 tackles, 15 starts, 1 sack) and a 14-start 2024 (63 tackles) to close his rookie deal in Las Vegas. Signed with the Atlanta Falcons in 2025 free agency and stepped in as a starter (13G/13GS, 73 tackles, career-high 7 PDs). Career: 67 G, 55 starts, 361 tackles, 3 sacks, 13 PDs, PFR AV 27. Round-3 developmental hybrid who turned into a multi-year NFL starter.
Positional-conversion bet with real safety production and modern hybrid-defender traits. Divine Deablo arrived at Virginia Tech as a 3-star WR recruit (14 games, 1 catch as a true freshman in 2016) before moving to defensive back in 2017. The role took time to click — 4 games and 8 tackles in 2017, then 11 games and 55 tackles as a rotational safety in 2018 — but the breakout came as a junior in 2019: 13 games, 84 tackles (42/42 solo/assisted split), 4.5 TFL, 1 INT, 1 FF and a fumble-return touchdown as a full-time starter.
His senior year in 2020 was the calling card: 9 games, 55 tackles and 4 interceptions that led the ACC and ranked top-10 nationally, plus 4 pass breakups on a shortened COVID schedule. Career line: 51 games, 206 tackles, 12.5 TFL, 6 INTs, 11 PDs, 3 FF at 6'3"/226. Testing (sub-4.6 forty at that size) confirmed him as a modern hybrid — too big to be a pure single-high safety, too coverage-capable to be a downhill run-first LB.
Media grading landed him inside the Day 2 range (Brugler top-90, PFF top-100, Jeremiah 3rd-to-4th) and the Raiders took him at #80 to play the "big nickel / dime linebacker" role in three-safety personnel. The pro arc validated the projection: rotational box safety and special-teams core as a rookie (17G/5GS, 45 tackles), an injury-shortened but productive Year 2 (8G/8GS, 74 tackles when healthy), and a full conversion to off-ball linebacker in 2023 with a career-high 106 tackles (15 starts, 1 sack, 2 PD) as the Raiders' every-down MIKE.
Deablo played out all four years of his rookie deal in Las Vegas (14 starts and 63 tackles in an injury-limited 2024) before signing with the Atlanta Falcons in 2025 free agency, where he stepped in as a full-time starting linebacker — 13G/13GS, 73 tackles, 1 sack, career-high 7 PDs, an interception on the way, and continued snaps in the box and in coverage. Career through 2025: 67 games, 55 starts, 361 tackles, 3 sacks, 13 PDs, 3 FRs, PFR career AV 27. Round-3 developmental conversion who turned into a legitimate multi-year NFL starter.