Can Divine Deablo Rebound in 2023?

Photo: Robert Scheer, USA Today Sports

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In life, there are many ways we can describe being challenged. Some words make them feel greater than others. Obstacles, roadblocks, adversity, whatever term you prefer, we have all had to deal with these things at some point in our lives. Whether it’s an office setting where you have disagreements with a coworker or boss or trying to break an old habit, these things can derail you if they’re allowed to do so. They also can shape you and motivate you. In the case of professional athletes, we often see injuries. Some have devastating effects on the career trajectory of the player. Others are a footnote in the story of that player. In both cases, the player has a decision to make mentally. Work as hard as possible to rehab your body and return to form or get into the "What if?" mindset regarding your injury woes. Divine Deablo has reached this proverbial crossroad in his young NFL career, but he is poised for a significant rebound. Here’s why.

Who Is This Guy?

Deablo is at the precipice of IDP greatness, or so he was at the time of his injury. The relatively unknown man was a third-round draft pick by the Raiders out of Virginia Tech. After his rookie season being somewhat pedestrian, his 2022 season was off to a wow start. Through his first five games, he had accumulated 48 total tackles. Week 6 was his bye week; in Week 7, he had 11 total tackles; and in Week 8, he had 14 total tackles. Then Week 9, he broke his arm and was sidelined for the rest of the season. It is important to note that he was injured on the second play of the game while making an assisted tackle. By this time, he was likely plucked from every waiver wire in the IDP world, and the managers let out a collective "NOOO!" that would have made Luke Skywalker proud. When the sample size is small, it is easy to simply gloss over the outlier type results and move on to the next shiny toy especially when having rookie drafts in IDP dynasty leagues. I would argue that he has ascended into LB1 territory and should be treated as such.

A Divine LB1

If you’re a fan of these articles, then you know that I am a proponent of building your IDP team around consistent tackling linebackers. If we saw anything in the brief opportunities that Deablo had, it was that he is a tackling machine! In fact, if you extrapolated his averages throughout a full season, he would have had 157 total tackles. Please make sure you read that again. This was a guy who was likely on your waiver wire through Week 3! Tackle guys like that don’t just fall off trees. He was a diamond in the rough and one that I believe will still shine even through this adversity. This season, he is projected to be a starter in the same defensive scheme as before. His injury wasn’t tissue or tendon, it was bone. So as devastating as it was to last season, there shouldn’t be any lingering effects on his performance after his recovery. A healthy Deablo will score in bulk for your team, but the most important question is, "What is his value?"