The Miami Dolphins used the 43rd pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to select Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez. Miami targeting inside linebacker in the second round is a surprise, but who are the Dolphins getting with the selection? We take a look around the draft profiles published before the draft to get a better look at him.
Rodriguez arrived in college as an offensive “athlete” and leaves Texas Tech as a bigger-than-life, stat-stuffing linebacker. He’s uniquely productive,
with elite tackle, interception and forced fumble production. He’ll occasionally bounce out of a run fit when chasing action, but he has the burst to race back inside and finish. He’s slippery working off blocks and navigating combo climbers. His lateral pursuit leaves the station on time and with a fast take-off. Rodriguez displays ballhawking instincts and outstanding hands but busted coverages were part of the package in 2025. His unbridled urgency and “make every play” mindset can inflate missed tackle totals, but the production should outweigh the occasional headaches. He projects as a long-term starting inside linebacker.
Jacob Rodriguez was hands-down the best linebacker in college football this season. The Butkus Award winner is a turnover machine with impressive instincts as a run defender. However, he lacks NFL length/size (listed at 6’1″, 235 pounds) and traits to be a high-level prospect in the 2026 draft class.
A 3-star recruit as an athlete in the 2021 class, Rodriguez’s college career began at Virginia, and on the other side of the ball. He lined up at several positions for the Cavaliers: quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end, before transferring to Texas Tech and moving to linebacker the following year.
The Red Raider was a rotational player during his first season in Lubbock, and he began the 2023 campaign as a starter. However, a Lisfranc sprain and bone bruise in his foot limited him to just five games, 32 tackles, one tackle for loss, an interception, two passes defended and two forced fumbles.
Rodriguez’s breakout season came in 2024, where he played in all 13 games and logged 127 tackles, 10.5 TFLs, five sacks, an interception, four PDs, and three FFs. That was good enough to earn First-Team All-Big 12 and honorable mention All-American honors.
He officially became a well-decorated linebacker this past fall with 128 tackles, 11 TFLs, a sack, four interceptions, six PDs and the most FFs (seven) in the country.
That added the Butkus, Lombardi, and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year awards to his mantle, in addition to first-team all-conference and All-American honors.
The tape and the workout tell the same story, which is not always the case with college linebackers who put up huge numbers. Rodriguez sees the game through a quarterback’s eyes, and it shows in how quickly he sorts run fits and how cleanly he reads route distributions underneath. Pair that with the short-area quickness and the vertical he put up at the combine, and you have a player built to flow to the football in a modern defense that asks its linebackers to cover ground rather than stack and shed guards head-up.
A 4-2-5 or single-high structure that lets him play in space and read the backfield is where he lives. Asking him to two-gap or hold up against a pulling guard in an A-gap downhill scheme is going to expose the length and the 231-pound frame in a hurry. Put him in a Will or weakside role where the front handles the dirty work and he can trigger on flow, and the instincts and ball production translate right away. The turnover total is not an accident; he hunts the football and his strike zone on the Peanut Punch is refined.
There are real things to clean up. The cutback misses and the coverage busts on verticals need coaching attention before he is trusted on every down. But the floor here is a three-down starter with impact-play juice, and the ceiling is a Pro Bowl-caliber playmaker if a staff can build around what he already does well rather than force him into a role that fights his traits.
The Player
Rodriguez is a high-impact defender and former walk-on with outstanding intangibles, production, and tape. He’s the only FBS player since 2005 to have recorded at least 300 career tackles, 10 forced fumbles, five interceptions, and five fumble recoveries. His greatest strength is his ability to take the ball away, and he finished his career with 13 forced fumbles. The timing, accuracy, and violence of his punch stand out.In coverage, he reads the quarterback well, tracks the ball naturally, and finishes plays. He intercepted four passes in 2025 and totaled 10 passes defended over the past two seasons, even though he has shorter arms.
Rodriguez is slippery in the run game and difficult to square up. His change-of-direction ability—evident in his top-ranked three-cone and short shuttle times among linebackers at the combine—shows up on tape when he evades blocks and makes plays in tight spaces. He’s quick to read and react, plays with great effort, and closes well, as backed by a 4.57-second 40-yard dash.
While he drives through ballcarriers and shows good stopping power, he missed 42 tackles over the past two seasons (per PFF). His short arms and inconsistent angles contribute to those misses, and while he has the upper-body strength to stack blockers, he can get pushed around at times because of his lighter frame.
A two-time team captain, he started 31 games at Texas Tech after transferring from Virginia, where he spent one season playing multiple positions, including quarterback. Rodriguez put together one of the most decorated seasons in recent memory, winning the Butkus Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award, and Lombardi Trophy in 2025. He was a unanimous first-team All-American and the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.
The Draft
Rodriguez elevated himself from a potential day three pick entering the 2025 season to one of the top off-ball linebacker prospects in the class, with top-50 consideration, following a dominant senior year, strong Senior Bowl performance, and impressive combine.The Projection
Rodriguez should make an immediate impact on special teams and has the tools to develop into a starter. Demario Davis is a loose comparison from an athletic and developmental standpoint, as he entered the league needing to clean up his tackling and consistency in coverage before becoming one of the NFL’s top linebackers.
Jacob Rodriguez projects as a starting WILL linebacker at the NFL level, with the versatility to play in just about any defensive scheme.
Rodriguez’s size will likely keep teams from considering him as an every-down MIKE linebacker, despite his obvious football IQ, leadership, and communication skills. He’s also at his best when he can play in space, using his instincts, processing, and athleticism to flow to the ball, disrupt the offense, and make plays for his defense.
The question is how heavily teams will weigh his size and missed tackle rate against his athleticism and playmaking ability. Some teams could look at Rodriguez and wonder if his playmaking will translate to the next level, while others could see a Luke Kuechly like linebacker. Rodriguez could sneak into the bottom of the first round for the right team, or he could be a phenomenal value in the second.
