Elandon Roberts’ performance has been stunning.

The rookie linebacker, who is almost 50 pounds lighter and three inches shorter than Dont’a Hightower, has emerged from the depths of the Patriots’ roster to make an immediate impact on the field. He’s finished with seven tackles in each of his first two games.

After the Patriots’ 35-17 win over the Bengals, Roberts finished with Pro Football Focus’s third-highest defensive score among Patriots’ defenders. According to PFF, Roberts graded higher than Tom Brady on Sunday. Here’s what they had to say about the rookie’s first career start.

Rookie LB Elandon Roberts got his first career start in place of the injured Jamie Collins, and more than held his own. Roberts earned positive marks for run defense, pass rushing, and coverage; the sixth-round pick looks like a steal

In the tweet below, you can see Roberts fly across the screen to make a tackle on Bengals running back Gio Bernard in the first quarter on a first-and-10. Roberts made his presence felt immediately.

This is why Bill Belichick keeps saying Elandon Roberts is "explosive" pic.twitter.com/unm6VlkImK — Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis) October 17, 2016

“Elandon’s instinctive,” Belichick said Monday. “He sees plays quickly, reacts quickly. I think he has pretty good playing strength and he’s an explosive player so he does all of those things well.”

He put that explosiveness on display on a second-and-14 in the second quarter. Roberts blitzed up the middle, and collided with Bengals running back Jeremy Hill, who was in pass protection. Hill was flagged for holding Roberts on the play.

More explosiveness from Roberts pic.twitter.com/zRiOj6ffET — Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis) October 17, 2016

Roberts later stoned Bernard on a second-and-goal in the second quarter. Roberts eluded defensive tackle and fullback Dogmata Peko, and met Bernard at the line of scrimmage. The Patriots later held the Bengals on fourth down for a goal line stand.