We continue our 2026 NFL Draft preview of draft prospects that could interest the Dallas Cowboys. Today we are looking at linebacker Jacob Rodriguez from Texas Tech.
Jacob Rodriguez
LB
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Senior
3-star recruit
6’1”
231 lbs
History
Jacob Rodriguez’s background is a little atypical for an NFL linebacker because he entered college as a scholarship quarterback, then reinvented himself on defense. In 2021, Rodriguez committed to Virginia, and he was used as an offensive package player. On the season he logged
12 games, 11 carries for 56 yards and eight catches for 65 yards.
In 2022, he transferred to Texas Tech and made the full transition from offense to linebacker. He played 12 games, finishing with 29 tackles and three tackles for loss. It was a hard but interesting transition year for him.
In 2023, his season was derailed early when he suffered a significant injury in the opener at Wyoming and was limited to five games. He still produced 32 tackles, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and an interception in five appearances. He was named Defensive MVP of the Independence Bowl versus Cal after an eight-tackle game with a forced fumble and an interception in the fourth quarter.
It was his fourth year in college the breakout came. He became one of the country’s highest-volume defenders and in 13 games he produced 127 tackles, 10.5 TFL, five sacks, plus an INT and three forced fumbles with two fumble recoveries. He had an unbelievable career-high of 17 tackles in one game against Colorado, and also a big game against Iowa State with 2.5 TFL, two sacks and a forced fumble.
In 2025 he followed the success of 2024 with 128 tackles (most in the Big 12), 11 TFL, one sack, seven forced fumbles (leading the nation), four interceptions, two fumble recoveries, and three total TD’s. He was named Defensive Player of the Game in the Big 12 Championship versus BYU with 13 tackles and two TFL, as Texas Tech won its first Big 12 title.
An interesting fact, Rodriguez became the only FBS player since 2005 to have a college career with 300+ total tackles, 10+ forced fumbles, 5+ interceptions, and 5+ fumble recoveries.
2025 Statistics
772 Defensive Snaps
128 Total Tackles
11 TFL
1 Sack
6 Pass Breakups
4 Interceptions
7 Forced Fumble
2 Fumble Recoveries
1 Fumble recovery TD
20 Missed Tackles
0 Penalties
Snap by Postion
On the line: 3%
Box: 87%
Slot: 8%
NFL Combine/Pro Day
Awards
2024: All-Big 12 First Team
2025: Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year
All-Big 12 First Team
Big 12 Championship Defensive Player of the Game
Pony Express Award
Bronko Nagurski Trophy Winner
Chuck Bednarik Award Winner
Butkus Award Winner
Lombardi Trophy Winner
All-American First Team
Scorecard
Overall– 82.0
Speed- 81
Acceleration- 86
Agility- 92
Strength- 77
Tackling- 75
Run Defense- 96
Pass Rush- 72
Coverage- 89
Discipline- 100
THE GOOD
- Elite processing and diagnosis
- Sees run concepts quickly, anticipates blocking schemes, and triggers without hesitation
- High-volume, efficient tackling which shows incredible stamina
- Violent finisher with rare turnover production
- Runs down plays laterally from the backside and closes space quickly
- Effective as an add-on rusher and finds clean paths to finish
- Zone aware
- Shows to have a good feel for spacing and route distribution
- Motor and competitiveness are extremely high.
- Shows good leadership as a tone-setter and shows up in big moments
THE BAD
- Undersized and short-armed by NFL MIKE standards
- Has lack of ideal size which can get him stuck on blocks
- Guards can be wash him out or wall him off with ease
- Missed tackles from aggression and angles is an issue
- His urgency can lead to over-aggressive angles
- Play-action and misdirection susceptibility
- Coverage discipline lapses due to awareness
- Athletic ceiling is questionable
THE FIT
Rodriguez fits best as a three-down linebacker on a nickel-heavy defense that values processing and tackling where he can play fast downhill and carry backs with help rather than being isolated all day. You maximize him behind an attacking front that keeps him clean because his game is built on trigger speed, violence on contact, and finishing plays rather than stacking linemen snap after snap.
SUMMARY
Jacob Rodriguez is an instinctive, high-motor off-ball linebacker whose value comes from how quickly he sees it, triggers, and finishes. His tape shows a true downhill striker with strong tackling efficiency, good pursuit angles, and consistent production in the backfield as both a blitzer and run defender, plus enough zone awareness to survive as a three-down option in today’s nickel-heavy NFL.
He’s at his best when he’s kept clean and allowed to play fast because bigger NFL guards can swallow him if he’s asked to stack-and-shed all game. The main questions are athletic ceiling and coverage matchups. He’s not a rare twitch guy, so teams will want to protect him from repeated man assignments on shifty backs and slot players and focus his snaps on what he does best, which is diagnose, tackle, and create negative plays.
PRO COMPARISON
Robert Spillane
BTB OVERALL RANKING
48th
CONSENSUS OVERALL RANKING
43rd
(Consensus ranking based on the average ranking from 90 major scoring services, including BTB)
