Jacob Rodriguez LB Texas Tech |
NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
| Jersey: #10 PLAY STYLE: MULI-ROLE LB | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Updated: 04/10/2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Draft Year: 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FORTY time: 4.57 seconds (85%*) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Age: 23.11 DOB: 09/06/2002 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowl Invite: Senior Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Jersey: #10 | |
| PLAY STYLE: MULI-ROLE LB | |
| Last Updated: 04/10/2026 | |
| Draft Year: 2026 | |
| Forty time: 4.57 seconds (85%*) | |
| Age: 23.11 DOB: 09/06/2002 | |
| Bowl Invite: Senior Bowl | |
| Overall Rating: | 85.2 / 100 | |
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| Average rating of opposition Offense player has faced | ||
| Offense Rating: |
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73% |
| Click the links below to view how player ranks vs other prospects. | ||
| Tackling: |
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68% |
| Pass Rush: |
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72% |
| Run Defense: |
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96% |
| Coverage: |
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94% |
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DRAFT PROJECTION:
2nd - Late
Overall Rank:
#50
Position rank:
#6 (LB)
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| College Games: 42 College Snaps: 1890 | ||
ESPN RATING: 83/100
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247 RATING: 88/100
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RIVALS RATING: 5.6 (92%)
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| Player Comparison* (Similarity level) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Jeremiah Trotter Jr. - Clemson |
|
75% |
| Marte Mapu - Sacramento State |
|
75% |
| Barrett Carter - Clemson |
|
71% |
Drafted: ROUND: 2 - Pick Number: 43 (MIA)
Draft Profile: Bio
A Minnesota-born wrestler who won youth state titles at ages five and seven, Jacob Rodriguez moved to Wichita Falls, Texas at age ten. At S.H. Rider High School he played both ways as a sophomore alongside his older twin brothers, then took over full-time at quarterback and finished his career with school records of 7,085 passing yards and 106 total touchdowns. His final high school campaign earned him district MVP honors and a trip to the state semifinals.A three-star recruit rated the 26th-best athlete in his class, Rodriguez picked Virginia because the Cavaliers let him keep playing quarterback. Once Bronco Mendenhall resigned following that first college season, he hit the portal and followed his older brother Joshua to Texas Tech, where he bunked on a spare bit of apartment floor as a walk-on before earning a scholarship that fall. He made the full switch to linebacker under Joey McGuire.
A foot injury wiped out most of 2023, though he still took home Independence Bowl Defensive MVP honors. He broke through in 2024 with 126 tackles and First Team All-Big 12 honors, then delivered a historic senior year: 128 tackles, seven forced fumbles, four picks, unanimous All-American, Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, Bednarik, Butkus, Nagurski, and Lombardi awards.
Honors & awards
- 2025 Chuck Bednarik Award
- 2025 Dick Butkus Award
- 2025 Bronko Nagurski Award
- 2025 Lombardi Award
Scouting Report: Strengths
- Diagnoses run fits fast and triggers downhill the instant he reads the blocking scheme.
- Lateral burst shows up on chase plays; gets to the sideline alley quicker than most.
- Active hands when taking on climbers, staying square and working off with good leverage.
- Ball production is a calling card: 13 career forced fumbles, the Peanut Punch is technique, not luck.
- Quarterback background flashes in pre-snap communication and reading route concepts underneath.
- Scored on both sides of the ball in 2025, including a 69-yard scoop-and-score.
- Combine agility numbers and vertical back up the range and burst the tape shows.
- Two-time captain whose tempo and urgency clearly lift the group around him.
Scouting Report: Weaknesses
- Shorter arms show up against interior linemen who latch on at the second level.
- Cutback runs give him trouble; missed tackles often come when he overruns the aiming point.
- Coverage reps against vertical route concepts exposed some depth-management issues in 2025.
- Aggression cuts both ways; bites on misdirection and play-action more than you want.
- Tight on peripheral awareness when chasing wide, running into trailing blocks in space.
- Thin special teams resume, which matters for a linebacker his size entering the league.
Scouting Report: Summary
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.
Jacob Rodriguez percentiles vs other Linebackers (NFL Combine historically - higher value represents better perfomance)
How other scouting services rate Jacob Rodriguez (Overall Rank)
All Scouts AverageOverall Rank
55.3
All Scouts AveragePosition Rank
7.0
*Percentile Ranking in Player's Position Group (NFL Combine Historical Data): This percentile reflects how a player's specific statistics rank
in comparison to historical performances at the NFL Combine, specifically within their position group. A higher percentile indicates a better performance.
For instance, being in the 90th percentile for a particular stat means the player outperformed 90% of their peers in that category.
*Similarity Percentage: This percentage is calculated based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including height, weight, 40-yard dash times, on-field performance statistics, and overall player rating. The analysis is conducted against our database of draft prospects from 2021 to 2023. This similarity score helps in evaluating how closely a current prospect aligns with past prospects. It is important to note, however, that this score reflects similarities based on college production and attributes, and does not account for eventual success or performance in the NFL.
*Similarity Percentage: This percentage is calculated based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including height, weight, 40-yard dash times, on-field performance statistics, and overall player rating. The analysis is conducted against our database of draft prospects from 2021 to 2023. This similarity score helps in evaluating how closely a current prospect aligns with past prospects. It is important to note, however, that this score reflects similarities based on college production and attributes, and does not account for eventual success or performance in the NFL.