Hunter Long became the highest-selected tight end in program history, and Boston College had multiple players drafted for the seventh time in the last eight years this weekend.
And in the hours following the 2021 NFL Draft, two more Eagles found new homes.
Linebacker Max Richardson signed with the Las Vegas Raiders Saturday night, while defensive end Max Roberts ended up with the Los Angeles Rams Sunday morning, both as undrafted free agents. Second-year head coach Jeff Hafley congratulated Richardson and Roberts over Twitter and even predicted that his former middle linebacker will be one of “those” UDFA success stories.
“I think [Richardson] is gonna make a team very happy,” Hafley said Thursday. “I think a team that picks him is gonna be in a for a real nice deal when they see how he approaches the game, how smart he is, how he studies the game.”
Richardson was the heart and soul of BC’s locker room last season as a fifth year and team captain. He addressed off-the-field issues such as police brutality and the importance of voting, in addition to helping lead a resurgent BC defense in the first year of Hafley’s stay.
Alongside Isaiah McDuffie—who was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round Saturday—Richardson racked up 99 total tackles, the fourth most in the ACC. He also ranked second on the team with 3.5 sacks. Richardson wrapped his illustrious BC tenure with the 11th-most total tackles (316) in school history.
“He can play multiple positions,” Hafley said. “He can be a really good special teams player. I think he’s got a chance to stay in that league by the way he works, takes care of his body, and he’s a really productive player.”
Richardson started his BC career playing special teams, taking 133 snaps in that capacity as a freshman. Along the way, he made 10 total tackles, including seven solos, and even forced a fumble. The next year, he took over as BC’s starting middle linebacker, but it wasn’t until 2018 that he got a full season under his belt at the position because of a season-ending injury in 2017, for which he received a medical redshirt.
Roberts, on the other hand, was only in Chestnut Hill for one year. BC was the third and final stop of his winding college career. Before coming to the Heights, the 6-foot-1 edge rusher spent three years at Fordham and a single season at Maine in 2019. He was added to BC’s roster ahead of the Eagles’ home opener against Texas State last September.
Roberts made his presence known immediately, logging five total tackles and 1.5 sacks. Over his 10 games in a BC uniform, Roberts served as a rotational pass rusher. He was one of three graduate transfers to help beef up the Eagles’ defensive line in 2020.
By the season’s end, Roberts led the team with 4.5 sacks and was third with 6.0 tackles for loss, which resulted in a team-high 49 TFL yards.
Perhaps his two most noteworthy plays of the season came against then-No. 12 North Carolina and then-No. 1 Clemson. Roberts brought down Tar Heels quarterback Sam Howell, popping the ball loose in the process. Four weeks later, he sacked backup Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei 13 yards behind the line of scrimmage during BC’s dominant first half in Death Valley.
Roberts clocked out with the seventh-highest Pro Football Focus defensive grade (68.7) of any Eagle last year. His pass rushing score of 74.2 was the third best on the team and the highest of BC’s defensive linemen.
Roberts and Richardson are arriving at two very different situations—the Rams and Raiders were first and 30th, respectively, in scoring defense last year—but both are looking to prove their worth at their next level.
