Jacob Rodriguez: The New Man in the Middle
For over a decade, the Miami Dolphins had a legend anchoring their defense in Zach Thomas. Thomas came out of Tech Texas heavily decorated as a unanimous All-America and 2 time Southwestern Conference player of the year.
However, the knock on Thomas was that he was too undersized to be effective in the NFL at 5’11” and 228 pounds. What you have to remember is this was during a time when stopping the run was the most important thing a defense had to do, and as such, the linebackers tended to be larger than they are today. As Thomas dropped all the way to the 5th round of the draft, Miami would select him 154th overall.
That didn’t matter to Thomas as he went on an absolute tear once he hit the field. Over his illustrious 13-year career, Thomas racked up 1,107 solo tackles and 20.5 sacks. He was named a First Team All-Pro 5 times, a Second Team All-Pro twice, made 7 Pro Bowls, and led the league in tackles twice. Thomas was eventually named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023. Fans who follow careers like his often approach other pursuits with the same careful strategy, whether researching the best online casino payouts or deciding which bets to place.
All of the great memories of watching Thomas returned to Dolphins fans when the team selected Jacob Rodriquez out of Texas Tech during the second round of last month’s NFL draft. Rodriguez is of a similar size to Thomas at 6’1”, 231 pounds, and was equally well decorated in college. He was a First-Team All-Big 12 selection in 2024 and 2025. He won the Butkus Award as the best linebacker in the nation. As well as the Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation’s best defensive player.
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlen had this to say about Rodriguez ahead of the draft.
“Rodriguez arrived in college as an offensive “athlete” and leaves Texas Tech as a bigger-than-life, stat-stuffing linebacker.” He Wrote. “He’s uniquely productive, with elite tackle, interception and forced fumble production. He’ll occasionally bounce out of a run fit when chasing action, but he has the burst to race back inside and finish. He’s slippery working off blocks and navigating combo climbers. His lateral pursuit leaves the station on time and with a fast take-off. Rodriguez displays ballhawking instincts and outstanding hands but busted coverages were part of the package in 2025. His unbridled urgency and “make every play” mindset can inflate missed tackle totals, but the production should outweigh the occasional headaches. He projects as a long-term starting inside linebacker.”
All of this is very encouraging, but what really gets fans excited is the fact that Zach Thomas is so high on Rodriguez. Back in December, Thomas was asked about Rodriguez during a Texas Tech practice.
“He’s had me watch every game, because I love watching great players.” He said. “His awards speak for themselves, because he’s that type of player. He’s another level, the best defender we’ve ever had at Texas Tech, and so I’m so happy for him, because I was just talking about humility, and that guy has it. He’s got talent, too.
When asked about how Rodriguez compares to him, Thomas made it clear that he felt the young linebacker was better than him.
“He got the Nagurski. He got the Butkus. He got all these awards, and I’m so proud of him. He deserves it, and he earned it.” He said. “So, they should never try to compare him to me. He’s going to be better.”
That type of praise from a player as accomplished as Thomas is rare. After being drafted, Rodriquez joined ESPN and talked about what it meant to be picked by the Dolphins.
“It was unbelievable, I saw the name pop up and where I was going to go.” He said. “I was excited to be there, Miami has a great track record of Texas Tech linebackers.
Of course nothing is set in stone in the NFL, there have been plenty of cases of players not being able to make the jump to the next level.
However, no one can blame us for getting excited to see a linebacker potentially as impactful as Zach Thomas.
You can follow me on YouTube @WickedGoodEverything and X @TheFakeBMarr
Jacob Rodriguez: The New Man in the Middle
Jacob Rodriguez: The New Man in the Middle
For over a decade, the Miami Dolphins had a legend anchoring their defense in Zach Thomas. Thomas came out of Tech Texas heavily decorated as a unanimous All-America and 2 time Southwestern Conference player of the year.
However, the knock on Thomas was that he was too undersized to be effective in the NFL at 5’11” and 228 pounds. What you have to remember is this was during a time when stopping the run was the most important thing a defense had to do, and as such, the linebackers tended to be larger than they are today. As Thomas dropped all the way to the 5th round of the draft, Miami would select him 154th overall.
That didn’t matter to Thomas as he went on an absolute tear once he hit the field. Over his illustrious 13-year career, Thomas racked up 1,107 solo tackles and 20.5 sacks. He was named a First Team All-Pro 5 times, a Second Team All-Pro twice, made 7 Pro Bowls, and led the league in tackles twice. Thomas was eventually named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2023. Fans who follow careers like his often approach other pursuits with the same careful strategy, whether researching the best online casino payouts or deciding which bets to place.
All of the great memories of watching Thomas returned to Dolphins fans when the team selected Jacob Rodriquez out of Texas Tech during the second round of last month’s NFL draft. Rodriguez is of a similar size to Thomas at 6’1”, 231 pounds, and was equally well decorated in college. He was a First-Team All-Big 12 selection in 2024 and 2025. He won the Butkus Award as the best linebacker in the nation. As well as the Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation’s best defensive player.
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlen had this to say about Rodriguez ahead of the draft.
“Rodriguez arrived in college as an offensive “athlete” and leaves Texas Tech as a bigger-than-life, stat-stuffing linebacker.” He Wrote. “He’s uniquely productive, with elite tackle, interception and forced fumble production. He’ll occasionally bounce out of a run fit when chasing action, but he has the burst to race back inside and finish. He’s slippery working off blocks and navigating combo climbers. His lateral pursuit leaves the station on time and with a fast take-off. Rodriguez displays ballhawking instincts and outstanding hands but busted coverages were part of the package in 2025. His unbridled urgency and “make every play” mindset can inflate missed tackle totals, but the production should outweigh the occasional headaches. He projects as a long-term starting inside linebacker.”
All of this is very encouraging, but what really gets fans excited is the fact that Zach Thomas is so high on Rodriguez. Back in December, Thomas was asked about Rodriguez during a Texas Tech practice.
“He’s had me watch every game, because I love watching great players.” He said. “His awards speak for themselves, because he’s that type of player. He’s another level, the best defender we’ve ever had at Texas Tech, and so I’m so happy for him, because I was just talking about humility, and that guy has it. He’s got talent, too.
When asked about how Rodriguez compares to him, Thomas made it clear that he felt the young linebacker was better than him.
“He got the Nagurski. He got the Butkus. He got all these awards, and I’m so proud of him. He deserves it, and he earned it.” He said. “So, they should never try to compare him to me. He’s going to be better.”
That type of praise from a player as accomplished as Thomas is rare. After being drafted, Rodriquez joined ESPN and talked about what it meant to be picked by the Dolphins.
“It was unbelievable, I saw the name pop up and where I was going to go.” He said. “I was excited to be there, Miami has a great track record of Texas Tech linebackers.
Of course nothing is set in stone in the NFL, there have been plenty of cases of players not being able to make the jump to the next level.
However, no one can blame us for getting excited to see a linebacker potentially as impactful as Zach Thomas.
You can follow me on YouTube @WickedGoodEverything and X @TheFakeBMarr
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