MIAMI GARDENS ― Miami Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley prefers to arrive at the team facility in the early morning and he's noticed something about rookie linebacker Jacob Rodriguez.
"He's extremely mature and he's very quickly become a pro say that, you know, you get here early and you go down to the weight room and he's got a routine where he's stretching at 5:30, 6 o'clock in the morning," Hafley said of Rodriguez.
Rodriguez will be Miami's undisputed starting middle linebacker, following the release of veteran Tyrel Dodson. Rodriguez, 23, is perhaps the most serious and locked-in of Miami's 13-member rookie draft class.
"He's probably one of the first guys eating a good meal at breakfast, and then he's meeting extra in the meeting rooms," Dodson
said. "He's just doing everything that a lot of veterans do. It takes some guys to be a veteran to do. So, I think the maturity level, I think he's got a great deal of confidence in himself."
Rodriguez was a second-round pick from Texas Tech. Miami can only hope he continues to make plays that remind fans of former Texas Tech and Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas.
Miami Dolphins news: Jacob Rodriguez to start; Tyrel Dodson cut
"I don't want to anoint him yet," Hafley said. "I think he's got a lot of work to do, but I am excited about where he's at right now."
That said, Hafley does not seem at all concerned that specific praise will have a negative impact on Rodriguez's mindset. And on the field, Rodriguez has been a ball of fire.
"He's got a great presence about him on the field," Hafley said. "It's not too big for him. He's really, really physical. He's a good communicator. He knows where to be. He's very instinctive. And he's good in coverage. If you just look back through training camp, he was able to get his hand on the football quite a bit. He took the ball away, whether he was punching it out or whether he was going up and having interceptions."
The Dolphins need to force turnovers to have a chance to pull some upsets in 2026. And Rodriguez has been a turnover machine in college.
Miami Dolphins roster: Leaning on rookies like Jacob Rodriguez
Hafley says the veterans have belief in Rodriguez, already.
"This guy he's got something to him," Hafley said.
Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan, in addressing why Dodson was let go, said simply: "It's a very fair question, like why would you move on from T. Dot, but I think it really just highlights how we feel about the young guys on our team."
With Dodson gone, Rodriguez will be taking the play calls from Hafley this season.
Rodriguez will wear a listening device inside his helmet.
"In the preseason games when Jacob was in, I was the one calling it in,' Hafley said. "When Jacob is in there now, I will be the one talking to him. Because we have to get that, you know, the communication down. But it's been that way for most of training camp."
Joe Schad is a journalist covering the Miami Dolphins and the NFL at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jschad@pbpost.com and follow him on Instagram and on X @schadjoe. Sign up for Joe's free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter. Help support our work by subscribing today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: How Dolphins chose to roll with Jacob Rodriguez, let Tyrel Dodson go
