How does a team recover from losing all three of their top-three linebackers on the depth chart, in addition to their slot cornerback who oftentimes served as the third linebacker on the field? They don’t–at least, not all at once. That’s the problem the Las Vegas Raiders find themselves with, who added Elandon Roberts to the roster in hopes to find somewhat of a solution.
In some ways, it’s impossible to deny that Roberts does help lessen the wound by such losses. In other ways, well.. not so much.
For example, Roberts ended his ’24 campaign with a 90.4 grade against the run via Pro Football Focus. This was the second-highest grade amount all linebackers league-wide with at least 200 run-defense snaps.
Roberts was able to earn such a high grade against the run due to the variety of strengths in his game. The patience of the 31-year-old combined with a ferocious pursuit to the ball carrier on a play-by-play basis went a long way in asserting sheer dominance on running downs.
Still, there are clear areas of weakness in the skillset of the first-year Raiders linebacker.
One such area is the passing game. While the patience of Roberts’ overall game translates in zone coverage, a welcoming sight for certain, the lateral and backwards movements in coverage are often hard to watch. This is on full display a majority of the time Roberts sinks back into coverage.
And while Roberts has proved to have good tackle form, he isn’t always the most efficient with it. For reference, the nine-year veteran missed 18% of his tackle attempts this past season; a downright inexcusable percentage. The lack of pure speed doesn’t do Roberts any favors in getting into great positions for tackles, either.
The full film breakdown of Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Elandon Roberts
This past week, we at The Raider Ramble released our full Elandon Roberts film breakdown and scouting report. Our in-depth video goes over the full scouting report of the now-former Steeler, highlighting all notable strengths and weaknesses while breaking down his game film in-full both on screen and verbally.
To check it out, simply click here. Or, manually search on YouTube @ Ramble Digital Media. And don’t forget to drop a sub–it’s the best way to ensure content like this keeps coming!
*Top Photo: Getty Images
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