Elandon Roberts and Patrick Graham have been involved in more games than just football–the two have been partaking in a 10-year game of cat and mouse that finally ended with the Las Vegas Raiders.
It almost seems too much to merely be a coincidence. Since entering the National Football League in 2016, linebacker Elandon Roberts has missed Patrick Graham by one year in two-of-three franchises he’s suited up for.
Even this year, Graham was considered a top-candidate for the then-available Jacksonville Jaguars head coaching job that he landed a second interview for. Had Liam Coen not rejoined the race after initially dropping out, who knows; Elandon may have, for the third time in his career, found himself in a position where he just missed the chance to work with Graham.
But that isn’t what happened. This time, the game of cat and mouse reached its end.
“E Rob will joke about. I’ve never coached him, but it seems like I coached him,” a laughing Patrick Graham said during the team’s latest press conference in regards to the game he and Roberts have been inadvertently playing over the last decade.
“He said, ‘Pat, you’ve never coached me, but it seems like you’ve coached me,’ because we have so many mutual connections in the NFL.”
Back in 2016, the New England Patriots turned in a card that had Roberts’ name on it in the sixth round. Coincidentally, this was the first draft the Patriots had since 2008 that Graham wasn’t a part of. That was due to the current Raiders defensive coordinator leaving New England to take a job with the New York Giants.
And, incredibly enough, this was only one-of-two times such a situation transpired over a five-year span.
A 10-year game of cat and mouse between first-year Las Vegas Raiders colleagues Elandon Roberts and Patrick Graham
For Roberts, he was able to play out the entirety of his rookie contract with the Patriots. From ’16-’19, the Houston alum carved himself out a nice role on New England’s defense, totaling 33 starts over those four years.
As Roberts wrapped up his final campaign before hitting the open market for the first time in his career, Patrick Graham was finishing his first season as a defensive coordinator with the Miami Dolphins. And, when Roberts officially became a free agent during the 2020 offseason, he elected to sign with that same Dolphins franchise Graham was coaching at.
There was only one problem–Graham was heading back to New York after a one-year stint in Miami.
It was almost as if Roberts was stuck in an unwinnable game–one where Graham couldn’t be caught. That was nearly hammered home with Graham’s contract expiring with the Raiders this offseason, before he agreed to rejoin the Silver and Black under head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek.
Once Roberts agreed to come to Sin City in March, the game finally ended; the two finally became members of the same NFL franchise, simultaneously.
“Man, if I didn’t want to get fined, I would tell y’all how I really feel,” Roberts jokingly said about just missing Graham more than once. “He was running from me. I got here and I said, ‘It’s about time, what’s up?’ I’m telling you.”
And as for the wait to finally team up with Graham? It was well worth it, according to the nine-year veteran.
Together, at last
Although this is the first time Elandon Roberts and Patrick Graham have officially teamed up, this isn’t the first time Roberts has felt the impact of Graham’s coaching. That’ll happen when your new teammates were recently part of a now-former coach’s system, just as Roberts’ teammates were with Graham. Twice.
“It’s kind of crazy. It’s like growing up in the same household but in a different generation,” Roberts explained.
“But the household didn’t change. It’s kind of the same. So when he talks, I’m just kind of zoned in on him.”
Roberts cannot get enough of his new defensive coordinator–the 31-year-old was crystal clear on that front.
“I’m trying to pull up on PG at his house and everything, like, hey, let’s talk a little ball. Because we only get so much time in the building.”
It isn’t only due to Graham being Roberts’ new defensive play-caller. It’s the coaching prowess of Graham; the intelligence, the passion, and the pedigree.
“Just knowing how PG came about and his pedigree, his philosophy behind the game.. I’m telling you. PG is the type of guy, he wakes up in the morning, he’s thinking about football. He can be eating something, he’s thinking about football. He can be watching the AFL, he can be watching them play, he just starts calling plays.”
Intelligence, passion, and pedigree
The passion Graham has for the game of football is undeniable. But what makes the ivy league coach truly special, to Roberts, is who Graham is as a person.
“He’s a great coach. He probably is an even better person,” Roberts noted.
“He’s a man of integrity, but at the same time, when it comes to this, football, he’s not cheating the process, and stuff like that. I love just being around that. And like I said, just knowing where he started, I can kind of talk his language. I can feel where he’s coming from with certain things.”
A great relationship between player and coach is blossoming in Sin City. Perhaps something special is brewing on the defensive side of the ball at large, just as it has for the last two seasons.
Graham has helped the Raiders reach heights they haven’t in over two decades. In 2023, Las Vegas’ defense found themselves in the top-15 via both least yardage and least points surrendered. Incredibly, this was the first time the Raiders’ defense achieved this feat since the team’s ’02 campaign.
In 2024, the Silver and Black once again ranked top-15 via least yards allowed throughout the season. This was the first time the Raiders were able to do this in back-to-back seasons since ’98, ’99.
But Graham’s toughest task yet is directly in front of him. A plethora of losses on the roster this offseason makes Las Vegas’ football team’s defense anything but it was these past two years.
If Patrick Graham and Elandon Roberts can continue being attached to the hip, this tough task will grow notably easier. Time will tell if that’s the case.
