JacobRodriguez

Rodriguez is a slightly undersized but high-energy defender who flies around making tackles, creating takeaways, and wreaking havoc. A former three-star prospect as a dual-threat quarterback, he dabbled at multiple positions at Virginia before transferring to Texas Tech and settling at linebacker. He filled up the stat sheet for the Red Raiders over his final two seasons in Lubbock, racking up 255 tackles, 21.5 tackles for a loss, six sacks, five picks, 10 passes defensed, and 10 forced fumbles in that stretch. Rodriguez shows excellent lateral quickness and has a natural feel for avoiding blockers and keeping himself clean as he tracks down the ballcarrier, consistently sifting through the trash at the second level to arrive at his target. He shows excellent vision to track the running back through traffic, keeping his eyes on the prize as he homes in. He stacks and sheds to avoid getting blocked out of the play and brings very good range to string out runs toward the sideline. He’s a big-time turnover creator, and ballcarriers better have two hands on the ball when Rodriguez is lurking behind the line. He punches and rakes at the ball and never stops grappling for possession; he shows great accuracy with his strikes to dislodge the ball, and he led the country with seven forced fumbles last year. He brings a good feel for positioning in zone coverage.

Rodriguez lacks top-tier size and length, and his shorter arms often limit his tackle radius (as evidenced by his 20 missed tackles in 2025, a 13.9 percent missed tackle rate). There are times when his aggressiveness gets him in trouble: He’ll overrun the play, fail to break down in pursuit to allow a cutback, or try to punch the ball away instead of just wrapping up for a tackle. At times, he’s lured away from the action by play fakes and ends up out of position.