Elijah Roberts showed flashes of pass-rush dominance for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, despite early struggles, making him a valuable late-round gamble for the Bucs' future.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got immediate contributions from some of their late-round picks, and Elijah Roberts was one of them.
When starter Calijah Kancey went down with a torn pectoral muscle in Week 2, Roberts was among the defensive tackles who needed to step up.
As expected, there were some growing pains.
Roberts struggled against the run, ending the year 111th out of 134 defensive linemen in run defense according to Pro Football Focus' grading.
But he showed promise in rushing the quarterback, ending the year with a respectable 63 pass-rushing grade, two sacks and finishing fifth on the team in pressures with 27.
Bucs Roundtable will take a look at where each 2025 Bucs draft pick stands after their rookie season, starting with their seventh-round pick.
WHY THE BUCS DRAFTED ROBERTS
Roberts, a native of Westchester, Florida, came to the Bucs after a five-year college career that started at Miami and wrapped up in Dallas, Texas, at Southern Methodist. Roberts only started one game in three seasons with the Hurricanes, but became an instant contributor after transferring. In 2023, Roberts was an All-American Athletic Conference performer, ending the year with 10 sacks (second in the AAC) and 12.5 tackles for loss. The next season, SMU joined the Atlantic Coast Conference, and Roberts' game translated well there, too. He ended the season with 7.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss, helping the Mustangs to the ACC regular-season title game and a College Football Playoff berth.
The Bucs liked Roberts' ability to generate pressure and bring down the quarterback, and liked that he was skilled enough to play defensive end in college, but big enough (6-foot-4, 295 pounds) to play on the interior.
ROBERTS' FUTURE
Everybody on the Buccaneers' defense should be on edge coming into the 2026 season, what with the unit finishing 20th in the league in scoring last year. But all things considered, Roberts was a bright spot.
Tampa essentially asked him to change positions out of necessity after Kancey's injury, and he responded by showing off the pass-rush skills that had convinced the Bucs to draft him to begin with.
It's hard to know what Roberts' role will be for 2026 and beyond until the Bucs add reinforcements to the defensive line, which they are expected to do through free agency and the draft. The Bucs are also hoping Kancey will be healthy, and if he is, that may lead to a reduction in snaps for Roberts, at least at defensive tackle.
Roberts might not ever be a star, but it's hard to argue the Bucs didn't get good value from their fifth-round pick in 2025.
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