How Will Elandon Roberts Handle Communication for Raiders' Defense?

Roberts comes to Las Vegas from the Pittsburgh Steelers, similar to the path Spillane took to join the Raiders. 

In his career, Roberts has totaled 604 tackles, 54 for loss, 36 quarterback hits, 12 passes defended, five forced fumbles, an interception, and 14.5 sacks. He has also played for the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins. 

How will the Raiders’ communication in the back seven look with Roberts taking over as the starting middle linebacker? 

Roberts is entering his 10th season in the NFL, which is more experience than Spillane had when he took over the role. He is meeting new teammates and learning how to play alongside them, which could take some time. 

Although Roberts and Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham have both spent time with the Patriots and Dolphins, their times never overlapped, so Roberts will learn a new scheme, too. Adjusting to that could also take a few weeks. 

The Raiders’ defensive line will do much of the heavy lifting for the Silver and Black defense, but they will still need the back seven to play well if they want to win more than four games this season. 

An experienced linebacker like Roberts manning the middle of the defense should help make up for some of the mistakes of having so many new players taking on important roles.

There are many questions about the state of the Raiders’ defense, including how communication will be with a new player wearing the green dot. 

If Roberts plays well and helps keep other Raiders’ defenders in line, Graham’s defense could see a serious boost in production.

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