Falcons' Divine Deablo Receives Title That Comes as Double-Edged Sword

Every NFL team has a player or two who will fly a bit under the radar as an unsung contributor. Successful clubs have several of them.

The NFL wanted to celebrate those players this week. NFL.com's special projects lead Tom Blair released a list of one "underappreciated" player from every team around the league.

For the Atlanta Falcons, Blair picked linebacker Divine Deablo.

"By the time Deablo came back from a stint on injured reserve last year, the Falcons were 3-7 and rapidly falling out of the playoff picture," wrote Blair. "And his contributions to Atlanta's late-season defensive surge might have been overshadowed by flashier output from players like, Jessie Bates III.

"The numbers paint a stark difference between the 2025 Falcons' performance with Deablo on the field (5.1 yards allowed per play, with -0.10 EPA per dropback and -0.10 EPA per called run) and without him (5.7 yards per play, 0.09 EPA per dropback and 0.02 EPA per called run)."

Deablo started the first six games of last season and then landed on injured reserve for a month. Things didn't turn around immediately when he returned, but overall, Atlanta went 8-5 when the linebacker played.

When he didn't, the Falcons were 0-4.

Deablo finished last season with 73 combined tackles, including five tackles for loss in 13 games. He also had two quarterback hits, seven pass defenses and one sack.

Linebacker Divine Deablo Named Most Underappreciated Falcons Player

It's a catch-22 being named a franchise's most underappreciated player. While it's a positive thing, it also means that that player gets taken for granted. No player ever wants that.

Of course, the more someone is hyped as underappreciated, the more appreciation they are ultimately receiving. Maybe that will be the case for Deablo going forward.

No matter what, though, Deablo is going to be underappreciated from a financial perspective this fall. The linebacker is set to have a $5.66 million base salary with only a $260,000 roster bonus this season. He will count as an $8.92 million cap hit.

That's great value for a starter who has to be in the lineup for his team to win, which was the case for the Falcons last season.

Among Atlanta defenders who played at least 300 defensive snaps last season, only defensive lineman David Onyemata had a better Pro Football Focus player grade than Deablo. He excelled in every PFF category.

When he didn't play, the Falcons didn't just miss him against the run but in pass defense as well.

Other Underappreciated Falcons Players

With Blair releasing his list, it got me thinking about other potential underappreciated players on the Falcons roster.

Staying on defense, defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus could be one. His analytics don't stand out as Deablo's do. But SB Nation recently ranked the Falcons defensive line the weakest in the NFL.

The unit is far from elite, but that was unwarranted to us, so the "underappreciated" label seems to apply.

Center Ryan Neuzil is another candidate. In his first full season as the team's starting center, Neuzil posted the sixth-best PFF overall player grade at the position.

He could still improve in pass protection, but Neuzil has been stellar. His play going forward will be key to either Tua Tagovailoa or Michael Penix Jr. finding success in 2026.

Fortunately for them, Falcons stars such as Bijan Robinson, Drake London, Kyle Pitts and Chris Lindstrom have been mostly appropriately appreciated in recent years. The same was the case for the team's young defenders such as James Pearce Jr., Jalon Walker and Xavier Watts.

Safety Jessie Bates III has received recognition as an elite defender over the last couple years too.

Hopefully for the Falcons, more of their players emerge as playmakers or at least solid contributors this fall. If they do, there's a chance they could go unnoticed nationally and qualify for the "underappreciated" label next year.

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