Falcons LB Divine Deablo Embracing Biggest Role of His Career

FLOWERY BRANCH – Atlanta Falcons linebacker Divine Deablo is not a naturally boisterous person. He is reserved, “naturally quiet,” and largely keeps to himself.

This season, the Falcons will need more from him, and Deablo knows it.

“I've been trying to have casual conversations with everybody. I’ve just been trying to chat it up to show that I am comfortable talking to everybody,” the linebacker said. “On the field, just yelling, being loud, I want everyone, even the coaches, to hear me and know I am confident.”

Deablo, who enters his second season in Atlanta, confirmed on Wednesday that he would be the ‘green dot player’ for the Falcons’ defense, stepping in for the departed Kaden Elliss. In this new role, he will be at the center of communication, serving as its voice, relaying Jeff Ulbrich's plays, and getting the defensive unit into position.

He has been working hard to make this transition as seamless as possible. The linebacker is pushing himself out of his comfort zone vocally, making a pointed effort to be more willing to speak up both on and off the field. When he is alone, the studying ramps up. He is in the film room, studying the playbook to make sure there is no hesitation.

“I gotta be fast. I gotta be on it,” he said. “That's my goal.”

If there was one, the linebacker feels like the player to bet on this season.

Deablo’s impact was immediate last season. At 6-foot-3, 223 pounds, with length and athleticism, Deablo is the ideal player for this Falcons defense. He is a sideline-to-sideline player who can shift all over the front, playing either the pass or the run at a high level.

Ironically, his presence (or lack thereof) was felt most in the midseason after he fractured his forearm early on against the 49ers. Including that game, the Falcons went 0-5 over that span. With him on the field for a full four quarters, the Falcons were 8-4.

For what he lacks in outward demonstrativeness, he makes up for with intelligence and a physical presence that inspires confidence in teammates and coaches.

“I’ve been around guys that are really demonstrative leaders that can have that effect, where their voice just calms you down because they’re so demonstrative and so certain in everything they do and so even-keeled when it comes to whatever the situation may be,” Ulbrich said. “They’re that rock you can lean on. And he does that in a way I’ve never seen before. It’s so unique in his calmness and his demeanor and his consistency in all that he does.”

Ulbrich is not alone in this assessment of his linebacker. Head coach Kevin Stefanski praised the person Deablo is, not just the player.

“[He is] wired the right way,” he explained. “Very, very, very intelligent. I don’t think you can overstate how important it is to have that intelligence right in the middle of your defense, right in the nerve center. To have somebody like Divine who can run sideline to sideline, can tackle, can play in the pass game, but can also align your defense, it’s a calming influence on your defense and your head coach.”

Coaches have noticed his elevation, but so have his teammates. Cornerback Mike Hughes had high praise for his teammate, insisting that the linebacker deserves to be among the league’s highest-paid players at his position.

“He is that special,” Hughes said about Deablo. “I think this year, y’all will get more of a glimpse of that. Last year, I think he got his foot in the door a little bit, and you’ll see what kind of impact he can make on that field. This year, coming in healthy, he’s going to take the world by storm. You’ll see.”

With the green dot and an ever-expanding role in 2026, Deablo will get that opportunity.

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