FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Divine Deablo has made 54 appearances and 42 starts across four years in the NFL. He’s recorded nearly 300 tackles. He’s played in the postseason.
Yet the 26-year-old linebacker, who signed with the Atlanta Falcons in mid-March, is in learning mode this summer.
Falcons head coach Raheem Morris alluded to veteran linebacker Kaden Elliss, who’s entering his seventh professional season and third in Atlanta, serving as a mentor to Deablo, who two years ago spent OTAs directing the Las Vegas Raiders’ defense with a green dot on his helmet.
It’s a glimpse at the growth Deablo hopes to make this offseason, and it underscores the heights the Falcons feel are possible for Deablo to reach. But how high he goes is anybody’s guess — because the Falcons don’t believe Deablo has hit the ceiling yet.
“I think his best football is still ahead of him,” Falcons linebackers coach Barrett Ruud told Atlanta Falcons on SI before OTAs.
Ruud’s reasoning stems from the football that sits in Deablo’s past. He arrived in 2016 at Virginia Tech as receiver, transitioning to defense after a freshman season in which he played all 14 games but primarily saw the field on special teams.
But he didn’t move to linebacker. Instead, the Hokies put Deablo at safety, where he started his final 33 games and ultimately blossomed into a first-team All-ACC selection in 2020.
Deablo didn’t play linebacker until he stepped foot in the Raiders’ facility as a 2021 third-round pick. He admitted last season he still didn’t have it out. He believes he’s progressed — if not moved past — his four-year growing pains.
“Starting at safety, dealing with 300-pound linemen, it was different for me,” Deablo told Atlanta Falcons on SI. “I had to get used to it. I was getting bullied at first, but growth over time. I definitely came a long way.”
Deablo was baptized by fire. He played in all 17 games while started the final five as a rookie in 2021, compiling 45 tackles and one tackle for loss despite playing just 26% of the Raiders’ defensive snaps. He also started their lone playoff game, making eight tackles across 30 total snaps.
Once he seized the starting role, Deablo didn’t let go. He started all 37 appearances from 2022-24, making 243 tackles, nine tackles for loss, two sacks and six quarterback hits. In 2023, he notched 106 total tackles, second-most on the team. His 63 tackles ranked sixth-best on the Raiders in 2024, while his four tackles for loss placed him seventh.
Deablo is seasoned and productive. Still, the Falcons don’t find him to be a finished product.
“I think the fact he played primarily safety in college — in a way, he’s still a developmental player, because he’s not a linebacker for life,” Ruud said. “He’s made that transition in this league.”
Now, Deablo is transitioning to a new town, team, system and coaching staff — though the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, native finds comfort in his proxomity to home. While he’s still a 300-mile ride up I-85 North away from his family, the drive is much closer than the 2,200-mile gap separating Winstom-Salem from Las Vegas.
At the time he entered free agency, Deablo’s younger brother, Deity, attended Georgia State University in Atlanta, which also factored into his decision. And while Deity is currently in the transfer portal, Divine has enjoyed the company from his newfound red-and-black family.
“Everybody’s just been great here,” said Deablo, who signed a two-year, $14 million contract worth up to $8 million in 2025. “The staff, the coaches, the players. So, easy choice.”
The 6′ 3″, 223-pound Deablo is the Falcons’ new “Agent Zero,” taking the jersey slot from last year’s No. 0, Lorenzo Carter, who signed with the Tennessee Titans in free agency this spring. Beyond the aesthetic appeal of his number, Deablo feels his size and speed — he ran a 4.42 at his pro day — characterize his skill set.
The Falcons agree.
“I think on film, you see the athleticism, No. 1,” Ruud said. “He’s got great traits for the position. He’s long, he’s fast, athletic. You saw the toughness on film as well. The ability to tackle, tackle in space. So we were really intrigued by his potential as well.”
Deablo played 323 snaps in coverage last season, according to Pro Football Focus. His 53.2 coverage grade put him 126th out of 189 qualifying linebackers, though his 115.9 passer rating allowed was 38th-best. According to Pro Football Reference, Deablo allowed 29 completions for 273 yards and two touchdowns on 37 targets last season.
Numbers aside, Atlanta’s evaluators liked the cover skills Deablo showed in Las Vegas.
“I think that’s where the athleticism shows up,” Ruud said. “The ability to play in space, the ability to move, the ability to close ground. We saw high level stuff on film.”
The Falcons will use Deablo solely as an inside linebacker, though Morris acknowledged his weight — 223 pounds — may draw external concerns. To Morris, one look at Deablo quells any doubt.
“He can do a lot of different things,” Morris said. “He’s a giant. He can run. He’s done a lot of really good things playing inside linebacker for us right now.”
During the Falcons’ OTA practices open to the media, Deablo has often worked next to Elliss on the first-team defense.
Second-year linebacker JD Bertrand and reserves Josh Woods and Caleb Johnson have made up the second-team unit. Troy Andersen, a second-round pick in 2021, has attended practice but isn’t yet healthy enough to practice due to a knee injury suffered last season. Morris also said first-round rookie Jalon Walker, largely an edge piece, can “do a couple of things” at inside linebacker as well.
Morris ultimately likes the way his linebacker room looks as mandatory minicamp starts Tuesday.
“It really fires you up adding the depth we’ve been able to add at the inside linebacker position this offseason,” Morris said. “Watching those guys go out and practice right now has been fun. (Deablo has) done such a nice job of giving us some depth and really creating some real sense of urgency for everybody in that competitive nature in that room, which is always nice to have.”
At least on the Falcons’ depth chart, Deablo replaces Nate Landman, who signed with the Los Angeles Rams as a restricted free agent after starting nine of 13 appearances last season.
“You get close to players, and unfortunately, it’s part of the NFL,” Ruud said about losing Landman. “There’s contracts, and there’s only so many guys you can have on the roster. But it’s always tough like that, because, especially from a football perspective, man, he had a great mentality for the game, and he was fun to coach. And he’s a great person, too.
“So, I think he’s going to do really well in LA.”
The Falcons, however, want their defenders to remove “think” from their vocabulary. Deablo said the unit will play fast and free-flowing, with each job having enough simplicity to allow players to operate at full speed.
Deablo wants to be part of the pack. Eventually, he wants to become a leader, but he understands he has to earn it.
So, for now, Deablo waits — and learns — in Elliss’s wings.
“I just want to do my job,” Deablo said, “and whatever they need, I’ll do.”
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