Hogs Haven
Hogs Haven takes a look at 2025 NFL Draft prospects that could contribute to the Commanders
Elijah Roberts, EDGE
School: Southern Methodist University | Conference: ACC
College Experience: Redshirt Senior | Draft Age: 23 (Week 1)
Height / Weight: 6’4”/ 285 lbs
Projected Draft Status: 4th-5th round
Player Comparison: Tyrone Crawford / Dayo Odeyingbo
A consensus four-star recruit out of high school, Elijah Roberts committed to his local university, playing for the Miami Hurricanes. However, due to struggling to find playing time, he transferred to Southern Methodist University in 2023. It was there his career took off, showing the talent that made him a highly sought recruit. Over 27 games in the last two seasons, Elijah Roberts totaled 72 combined tackles, 24 tackles for loss (TFL), 17.5 sacks, four passes defended, and four forced fumbles. He earned conference honors and was invited to the 2025 East-West Shrine Bowl.
Elijah Roberts is an intriguing power rusher with experience in 3-technique and standing up in wide 9 alignments. He has good, active hands that he uses to collapse the pocket. He uses this to his advantage to affect the run and passing game. Elijah is quick and violent enough to hit gaps before the guards can beat him to it. With Elijah being a violent tackler, it makes him a player to always account for. But power is mainly what Roberts has to rely on. A number of Elijah’s improvement stems from his lack of lateral agility desired for the position. His subpar change of direction, sideline pursuit, rushing bend, can be attributed to this. It makes Roberts a liability in space. In all, Roberts is projected to be a rotational defensive end with the upside of a starter. Roberts is projected to play in a 3-4 defense but he can also play in a 4-3. He is projected to be an early Day 3 selection in a deep edge defender draft class.
