It’s easy to overlook Segun Olubi’s addition to the Las Vegas Raiders.
The linebacker isn’t as big of a name as his fellow free agent additions like Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean. The former Green Bay Packer and Philadelphia Eagle, respectively, are set to be the faces of the Raider recalibration at the starting linebacker spots, after all. Then came the announcements of center Tyler Linderbaum, edge rusher Kwity Paye, and wide receiver Jalen Nailor being as official acquisitions shortly after the NFL’s
transaction wire kicked into gear at the start of the new league year on March 11.
Five days after the flurry of money deals were made amongst the 32 teams in the league, Las Vegas made official the signing of Olubi. Like his former Indianapolis Colts and current Raiders teammate Paye, the 26-year-old linebacker was brought in for specific reasons. And in the San Diego State product, the Silver & Black land an elite, high-impact special teams ace.
“He’s a difference maker-type guy,” Raiders special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis said of Olubi back in June after one of the team’s minicamp sessions. “He’s blocked punts in the league. He obviously had one against the Raiders last year. He’s a guy that is twitchy, he’s a guy that has already shown what he can do on the field, and he’s brought a lot to the to the group for us already. So, it’s going to be good to coach him. I’m excited we have him.”
Olubi’s special teams prowess and speed is going to be hard to knock off the Raiders roster this offseason.
By The Numbers
Segun Olubi, Linebacker, 5th Year
- 2025: 17 games (zero starts), 11 total tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 blocked punt; 362 snaps on special teams, 6 on defense
- Career: (2022-25) 51 games (2 starts), 50 total tackles, 1 interception, 1 pass deflection, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 2 blocked punts; 1,095 snaps on special teams, 141 on defense
Luring DeCamillis out of the collegiate ranks — the veteran special teams boss spent the last three seasons in the SEC coaching at Texas and South Carolina — was a task but the connection with the Kubiak family was too strong to turn down.
“There’s a lot of similarities between him and his dad, but there’s some differences too,” DeCamillis said of Klint and his father Gary Kubiak “Both are very, very detail-oriented. They love ball, which I think is huge, and he’s done a great job of organizing things since he’s been here, which I knew he would. It’s great to be with him, for sure, and the whole staff. I’ve worked with a few guys that are on the staff also.”
That attention to detail meant reconstituting all three phases of the Raiders’ game: Offense, defense, and special teams. Hence signing Olubi and fellow special teams dynamo wide receiver Dareke Young (who Klint Kubiak is all too familiar with during their respective time with the Seattle Seahawks last season). It’s never a bad idea to add elite or upper echelon talent — even on special teams.
DeCamillis and his assistant coaches, Marquice Williams and Tim McConnell, are charged with providing the defibrillator to a Las Vegas special teams group that flatlined last season. From blocked kicks (Daniel Carlson’s game-winning try thwarted by the Chicago Bears in Week 4; AJ Cole III’s two punts in Week 5 and Week 10, respectively), to awful coverage (Washington Commanders rookie receiver Jaylin Lane torching the team for a 90-yard punt return touchdown in Week 3, chief among them), and kicking instability (large portion to why Carlson is gone and veteran Matt Gay and undrafted rookie Kansei Matsuzawa are competing for the place kicker gig), the Silver & Black were a case study in breakdowns and blunders.
And this is for a special teams group that historically flourished while the rest of the team floundered.
In order to do a 180-degree turn, bringing in proven impact players like Olubi is the way to go about it.
That Week 5 punt block that ended up hobbling Cole was Olubi. The 6-foot-1 and 233-pound difference maker still exhibits the 4.44 speed he clocked in at San Diego State’s pro day heading into the league in 2022 and brings a tremendous chip on his shoulder, frenetic energy tailor made for special teams work, and all-important work ethic and accountability.
Look at the block Olubi had of Cole’s punt in the above tweet. That kind of game-altering screaming off the edge impact play has been sorely missing for Las Vegas as takeaways have become a rarity.
He paced the Colts with 30 special teams tackles including a highly efficient 2025 campaign where he notched 11 stops on special teams — including a forced fumble — and a blocked punt putting him in select company as only one of a baker’s dozen (13) to achieve the same stat line last season.
Don’t expect a drastic role change for Olubi in Silver & Black. He compiled 1,095 special teams snaps during his time in Indianapolis and he’s expected to be a core special teamer in Las Vegas. The linebacker notched 362 special teams snaps in 2025 to just six defensive snaps. And his heaviest workload in both groups occurred in his second season in 2024 where Olubi tallied 334 special teams and 114 defensive snaps.
Olubi’s competition in DeCamillis’ department are fellow young linebackers Tommy Eichenberg and Cody Lindenberg. That duo accounted for 371 and 362 snaps on special teams in 2025 and it’s the former that showcased some jarring hitting ability in coverage. But neither of the Bergs bring what Olubi has: Explosiveness and unadulterated speed. Couple that with a resume of impact plays, and it’s difficult to see the Bergs knock off the latest addition off the roster. Although, there’s plenty of special teams work to be had.
“Like you said, he’s very energetic, and I think that for special teams at this level, I think that’s very, very critical, because the reality is most people don’t grow up wanting to play left tackle on punt team. They want to be the starting linebacker,” Cole said of DeCamillis’ importance to the special teams room. “Most people don’t grow up saying, ‘Oh, I want to be the wing.’ They want to be the starting running back, but we need those guys to do that job at a high level. And so, when he comes into the room with that energy and that fire and that passion, I think it lights it in a bunch of other people. And so, hopefully, I mean, I’m confident that that will bring the best out of the group.”
Olubi certainly matches that energy, fire, and passion. And barring an injury or sudden plummet to ineffectiveness, he’ll not only make the final 53-man roster, but likely be worth more than the one-year, $1.145 million contract he inked with the Raiders.
