Elijah Roberts

Elijah Roberts (born December 24, 2001)^[1] is an American professional football defensive end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes and SMU Mustangs. Roberts was selected by the Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft.

Elijah Roberts

No. 95 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Position:	Defensive end
Personal information
Born:	(2001-12-24) December 24, 2001 (age 23) Miami, Florida, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:	285 lb (129 kg)
Career information
High school:	Christopher Columbus (Westchester, Florida)
College:	Miami (2020–2022) SMU (2023–2025)
NFL draft:	2025: 5th round, 157th pick
Career history
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2025–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
Second-team All-AAC (2023)
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life and high school

Roberts attended Christopher Columbus High School in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and led the football team to a class 8A state title.^[2] Coming out of high school, he was rated as a four-star recruit and held offers from schools such as South Carolina, Indiana, Florida State, Louisville, Penn State,^{[citation needed]} Miami, Oregon, Michigan and Georgia Tech.^[3] Roberts committed to play college football for the Miami Hurricanes.^[4][5]

College career

Miami

During Roberts' three-year career with the Hurricanes from 2020 through 2022, he appeared in 20 games with one start for the Hurricanes, where he totaled 21 tackles with two being for a loss, half a sack, and a forced fumble.^[6][7][8] After the conclusion of the 2022 season, he entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal.^[9]

SMU

Roberts transferred to play for the SMU Mustangs.^[10] In his first season with the team in 2023, he started all 14 games, where he notched 37 tackles with 12.5 being for a loss, ten sacks, and two forced fumbles.^[11][12] For his performance during the 2023 season, Roberts was named second-team all-American Athletic Conference.^[13]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Bench press
6 ft 3+5⁄8 in (1.92 m)	285 lb (129 kg)	33+5⁄8 in (0.85 m)	10+1⁄4 in (0.26 m)	4.78 s	1.67 s	2.78 s	4.78 s	31.5 in (0.80 m)	9 ft 8 in (2.95 m)	25 reps
All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[14][15]

Roberts was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 157th pick in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft.^[16]