Raiders UDFA profile: WR Seth Roberts

The Raiders initially signed four undrafted free agent receivers. Roberts was arguably the least headliner of the bunch and yet when the team claimed Greg Little off waivers, Roberts remained while it was former Virginia Tech receiver, DJ Coles who was waived.

Roberts played for Division II University of West Alabama and didn't put up big numbers, but he came up big when it mattered most. The 6-1, 196-pound receiver played two seasons at UWA. His first season, he didn't do much, with just 22 catches for 312 yards and one touchdown as a junior college transfer.

Much of the reason for his low receiving numbers as a junior was due to the West Alabama offense being primarily a running team. For example, the team's leading receiver that year had just 388 yards. Being handcuffed by a run heavy offense is a common problem for a lot of college receivers. It's the same reason Rod Streater wasn't on anyone's draft radar playing in Temple's run heavy offense.

As a senior, Roberts broke out mainly due to UWA passing the ball more. Having a receiver like him was a big reason why they felt confident making the change. The result was Roberts leading the Tigers with 857 yards receiving on 40 catches with 12 touchdowns.

Among those catches, he showed a penchant for the big play, with five of his touchdown catches coming from 40+ yards including a 79-yard touchdown catch in week five against Delta State. Among his six catches for 113 yards in week 3 against Florida Tech, he had a 48-yard touchdown catch. He would have another 48-yard TD catch later in the season as well.

He got better as the season went on, and finished strong with over 100 yards in each of his final two games for a total of 12 catches for 251 yards and 3 touchdowns over those two games.

He came up big on the biggest stage hauling in a career high 7 catches for 140 yards against Shorter College to help the Tigers take a share of the conference title. That season earned him a spot on the All-Gulf South Conference second team.

His late emergence as a go-to receiver along with his 4.44 40-yard dash at his Pro Day had scouts beginning to take notice prior to the draft. It wasn't enough to get drafted but enough to have the Raiders make him a priority free agent signing.

Once he was given the opportunity to dominate his level of competition, he did. It's easy to see why he went undrafted and for the most part it was factors that were out of his control. It makes him an ideal candidate as an undrafted free agent signing. You never know when you might find another Rod Streater or Andre Holmes waiting to break out.

Follow @LeviDamien