Jacob Rodriguez Should be DPOY Candidate

Jacob Rodriguez Should be DPOY Candidate

Miami already has an All-Pro at one of the off-ball linebacker spots in the newly extended Jordyn Brooks.

While they also have another capable starter in incumbent Tyrel Dodson, his job should not be guaranteed as the team opens training camp this week.

Why?

It’s simple.

The Dolphins have Jacob Rodriguez.

Miami’s brain trust clearly values the former Texas Tech Red Raider as they drafted him in the second round with a top-50 pick.

They did it for good reason too.

He was one of the best players in college football a year ago, helping lead the Red Raiders defense to a College Football Playoff appearance and a trip to the Orange Bowl.

Rodriguez rightfully was in the running for the Heisman Trophy a season ago as he finished fifth in the voting after tallying 128 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and a sack.

He was more than just a thumper around the line of scrimmage, though.

Rodriguez was a playmaker.

He forced seven fumbles, grabbed four interceptions and also had two fumble recoveries.

In doing so, he became the first FBS player since 2005 to record at least five forced fumbles, four interceptions and two fumble recoveries in the same season.

Rodriguez did all that while not being the focal point of the defense since the Red Raiders also had David Bailey, Romello Height and Lee Hunter, who were all NFL Draft picks as well.

Basically, Rodriguez was the biggest playmaker on a loaded defense.

A young group with a lot of question marks like Miami’s defense could use a playmaker like Rodriguez right away.

This year, the Dolphins’ defense will face a lot of very strong offenses like Kansas City, Buffalo, New England, Chicago, Green Bay, Detroit, Cincinnati and San Francisco.

With one of the youngest and most unproven defenses in the league, I would expect the Dolphins to give up a ton of yards both on the ground and through the air.

But what is one of the biggest equalizers in football?

Turnovers.

And with Rodriguez, Miami now has one of the most productive playmakers on the defensive side of the ball from the college ranks in recent memory.

Even if he can’t supplant Dodson full-time early in the year, I would expect Rodriguez to play a lot in obvious passing situations with his ability to get in passing lanes.

Although I would not put anything past Rodriguez.

He is already 23 years old, and Jeff Hafley expects him to one day wear the “green dot” as the player on defense who makes all the calls and checks on the field.

If he can pick up the defense quickly enough, I would think Miami’s coaching staff would make Rodriguez a starter pretty quickly.

It helps too that they can save some money by moving on from Dodson as well.

Whether he is starting or playing in sub packages early in the season, Rodriguez will make his presence known.

It will then only be a matter of time before he forces his way into more playing time and eventually becomes the starting off-ball linebacker next to Jordyn Brooks.

With strong play alongside Brooks, he would be getting enough reps to make game-changing plays.

Based on his college resume, he would quickly be a defensive player of the year candidate in that role.