![\"\"](\"https:\/\/platform.bigblueview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/03\/Jacob_rodriguez_RAS.png?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100\")
<\/a>InstinctsAthleticismMental processingPlaymakingSpace playRun defense<\/p>\nJacob Rodriguez is a slightly undersized but athletic and highly instinctive linebacker, as well as one of this draft\u2019s premier playmakers.<\/p>\n
Rodriguez is just above the threshold for a modern off-ball linebacker at 6-foot-1, 231 pounds, but he compensates with impressive athletic traits. Rodriguez has good long speed and among the best change of direction skills in this linebacker class. He\u2019s easily able to match up with tight ends and running backs in coverage, as well as spy athletic quarterbacks. Rodriguez is also quickly and easily able to get depth in his zone drops, making him a versatile piece in obvious passing downs for blitzing defenses.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also a very capable run defender who\u2019s able to stack and shed offensive line blocks when playing downhill thanks to good leverage and polished technique. He\u2019s able to get under linemen\u2019s pads, keep himself clean, and uncoil to give himself room to make a play. Rodriguez\u2019s quickness and agility also make him very difficult to block cleanly while he\u2019s knifing through trash or scraping along the line of scrimmage. He\u2019s a prolific tackler, racking up well over 100 tackles in each of the last two seasons.<\/p>\n
Rodriguez\u2019s instincts, however, are what set him apart. He processes very quickly in the pre and post-snap phases, and is also able to consistently anticipate the flow of the play. Rodriguez consistently makes an accurate first move and is often moving in the direction of the play as soon as the quarterback commits to distributing the ball. His instincts, movement skills, and hand-eye coordination also allow him to be a true ballhawk. Rodriguez had 6 passes defensed, 4 interceptions, 7 forced fumbles, and a pair of fumble recoveries in 2025. He is a threat on any down to end the opposing drive and set up his offense with the ball.<\/p>\n
Angle consistencyTackle consistencyLength<\/p>\n
There are a couple factors holding Rodriguez back from being considered one of the top players in this draft class.<\/p>\n
Most notably, and there\u2019s nothing he can do about it, Rodriguez is a bit undersized. Not much for a modern off-ball linebacker, however he lacks mass at 231 pounds and definitely lacks length at 6-foot-1 with 31-inch arms. That does show up in his game as he needs excellent leverage to consistently deal with offensive line blocks, and he also has a limited tackle radius.<\/p>\n
His limited tackle radius feeds into his other significant issue, which is too many missed tackles. Despite being an absolute tackling machine, Rodriguez still had a 13.9 percent missed tackle rate last year (per PFF). He has a tendency to be overly-aggressive in his choice of angles, either underestimating his opponents\u2019 speed or overestimating his own. Combined with his short arms, Rodriguez was often unable to properly break down and was forced to attempt arm tackles \u2013 for which he lacks much of a radius.<\/p>\n
(Rodriguez is the Texas Tech linebacker wearing number 10.)<\/p>\n
Jacob Rodriguez projects as a starting WILL linebacker at the NFL level, with the versatility to play in just about any defensive scheme.<\/p>\n
Rodriguez\u2019s size will likely keep teams from considering him as an every-down MIKE linebacker, despite his obvious football IQ, leadership, and communication skills. He\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Does he fit the Giants? Yes, value permitting<\/p>\n
Final Word: A late first or early second round value<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 NFL Draft looks to have one of the best linebacker classes to enter the NFL in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223235,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[86825,27,29,28],"class_list":["post-223234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-new-york-giants-draft","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}