One Linebacker After Another

One Linebacker After Another

Although nobody inside the facility will tell you this, the Dolphins are rebuilding. Any time you approach an off-season with four pieces of a 53-man puzzle, there’s only one word for it.

Given the limitations left by the previous regime, Jon-Eric Sullivan wheeled and dealed his way through free agency, adding a fifth piece in Malik Willis, before attacking the draft with gusto, coming away with a very solid haul of men, and then following that up with a handful of UDFA’s who have a real chance to make the team.

It’s not hyperbole to say that two of those drafted players – Jacob Rodriguez and Kyle Louis – have a legitimate chance to be an elite tandem moving forward. The former won the Nagurski, Butkus, Lombardi, and Bednarik Awards last season, whilst the latter was compared to Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks by Louis Riddick pre-draft. But in the modern NFL, where having three linebackers on the field at any one time is an alien concept, it throws up an interesting conundrum for Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley moving forward. If Louis is who Miami, Riddick – and I – think he is – and if Rodriguez can wrestle away starting duties from Tyrel Dodson – which will mean him very quickly grasping not only the scheme but also the green dot responsibilities as chief communicator – it will give the defense some serious options alongside returning star Jordyn Brooks.

Of course, Louis figures early on to be a chess piece, making use of his versatility to play a multitude of roles and giving Hafley a Nick Emmanwori-style player who can operate as a safety/dime LB/overhang/big nickel, but who can also roam the second level as a down LB, and make plays from stack alignments. As Assistant GM Kyle Smith said during his post-day-three-of-the-draft press conference, the Dolphins view Louis as an LB first, albeit with the ability to do different things in different packages.

He is a uniquely athletic prospect, a pretty undersized but explosive player with outstanding speed, change-of-direction, tenacity, coverage ability, and FBI. A football addict, he spends much of his spare time watching game film, and it shows. He’s instinctive, has a three-step close-with-speed that’s as good as anyone who came out in the draft, can gear down and back up again like someone 40lbs lighter, and in coverage, he can play the desired multiple schemes, able to sit in trail in man and undercut routes, drop off and maneuver around a zone, or work as a slot. Louis can also spy; he’s loose and agile to get outside the numbers, he always finds the ball, and he plays with a toughness and an intelligence that’s hard to match. I love the blitzing ability as well – he has 50 pressures over the past two seasons alone.

Rodriguez, on the other hand, played out of his mind last season, a true clean-up magician at the second level for Texas Tech, forcing seven fumbles, pulling in four picks, and finishing 5th in the Heisman voting on top of cleaning up at awards season. He has the ability to work up and down the second level to stay clean and use his speed and quickness to hammer into gaps. He has really good instincts, an innate understanding of the flow of a play, and is always on the move, which makes him difficult to consistently tag. He looks like an early starter because he ‘gets it’.

Whether Hafley sees the two rookies as pieces to build around Brooks or as long-term replacements for him – remember, he’s entering the final year of his contract – remains to be seen. The Dolphins would very much like to extend the former Seattle first-rounder, but don’t have the cap space at the moment to fulfill that desire, especially given they’re in the same boat contract-wise with fellow All-Pro C Aaron Brewer. As it stands, they can only do one of those two deals, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Brewer gets a contract first and Brooks plays on that final year.

Not because they don’t value him.

More so that he could become trade bait for a contender.

Sullivan has already shown he’s not averse to dealing players for picks, and with Brooks turning 29 in mid-October, he still has one big contract left in him. If Louis shows he can play at the second level on early downs, and if Rodriguez masters the scheme quickly, that decision – should a team come calling – could be a little easier to swallow.

Of course, the ideal scenario would be that the Butkus winner and the returning All-Pro man the LB spots, whilst Louis becomes a Jack of All Trades who fills various roles, getting all three of them on the field at the same time. Brooks then follows up his career year in 2025 with another in ’26 and signs a new contract, whilst the other two finish first and second in the Rookie of the Year voting, helping lead Miami back to the playoffs and beyond.

It’s not a stretch to say that what happens at linebacker in the early throes of summer and into training camp will have a huge and long-term effect on this team moving forward.