During the 2023 NFL offseason, the Las Vegas Raiders wanted to improve their defense entirely, with many depths to be filled, including the linebacker room.
Three Silver and Black linebackers finished the season with high defensive Pro Football Focus grades, starting with linebacker Robert Spillane.
Spillane finished with the highest Pro Football Focus defensive grade in the linebacker room and the second-highest Pro Football Focus defensive grade on the Silver and Black defense. He finished with a Pro Football Focus defensive grade of 77.0, a run defense grade of 89.0, a pass rush grade of 87.1, and a coverage grade of 58.9. According to Pro Football Focus, Spillane is listed as the 17th-best linebacker in all of the NFL. In his first season with the Silver and Black, Spillane finished with 82 solo tackles, 66 assists, 3.5 sacks, one fumble recovery, and three interceptions in 17 games.
Linebacker Divine Deablo finished with the second-highest Pro Football Focus defensive grade in the Raiders linebacker room. He finished with a Pro Football Focus defensive grade of 61.1, a run defense grade of 60.4, a pass rush grade of 61.8, and a coverage grade of 61.2. According to Pro Football Focus, Deablo is listed as the 62nd-best linebacker in all of the NFL. In his third season with the Silver and Black, Deablo finished with 65 solo tackles, 41 assists, one sack, and one fumble recovery in 15 games this season.
Lastly, rookie linebacker Amari Burney finished with the third-highest Pro Football Focus defensive grade in the Raiders linebacker room. Burney was selected 205th overall in the sixth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, from the University of Florida. He finished the season with a Pro Football Focus defensive grade of 53.9, a run defense grade of 58.1, a pass rush grade of 48.8, and a coverage grade of 55.2. In his rookie season with the Silver and Black, Burney finished with ten solo tackles and five assists in a total of seven games this season.
From February 27 to March 4, 2024, the NFL Scouting Combine will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.
Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @HondoCarpenter and IG @HondoSr, and never miss another breaking news story again. Sign up RIGHT HERE for our 100% FREE newsletter that comes thrice a week and delivers all our best stories.
More must-reads: