TAMPA, Fla — Each offseason, the Buccaneers make it clear about the players they draft and invite to rookie minicamp. They want additions who are good players and good people.
WATCH: Bucs rookie looks to make huge impact off the field
"I think there’s a lot of people out there that can evaluate talent, but it takes a little bit more to evaluate the person and the character," Bucs VP of player personnel Mike Biehl said after the draft. "I think we’ve gotten to a good point as a staff where we can kind of determine what kind of guys we want in this building."
Defensive lineman Elijah Roberts is one of those guys. Tampa Bay selected him with the 157th overall pick out of SMU. There's no question about his talent or his potential. He led the FBS with 131 quarterback pressures over the past two seasons. There's also no question about his off-the-field work with his mother, Shanda.
"My mom, she has a non-profit for domestic violence victims. She’s been doing that for over 10 years now," the Miami-native said via video chat. "Ever since I can remember, me and my brothers and sisters [have been] packing up purses, writing nice notes to victims, sending it to the shelters where the women are and just handing them out."
The Bucs think Roberts has all the tools to succeed in the NFL. Now, Roberts wants to use his platform to provide daily support to survivors of domestic abuse.
"There are women who are on the run from their abuser. They don’t really have much," he explained. "They’re literally just on the run and they don’t really have much with them besides the clothes on their back and the shoes on their feet."
Elijah views his Bucs opportunity as a chance to help his mother do even more good work.
"I’m in a better position to help my mom grow that. Whether that’s get her own shelter so she can help people out more or get people into housing and just giving that next step once you’re in the shelter, and getting that next step into helping themselves."
The Bucs open rookie minicamp Friday morning at 11:40.
