Jacob Rodriguez

Draft-Week Buzz

• 2026-04-15 [Bengals visit] — CIN hosted — R1 LB target at #10 or R2 at #41
• 2026-04-08 [Pro Day] — 4.52 40 + 36.5" vertical at 6-1, 240
• 2026-03-25 [Big 12 DPOY] — Received 2025 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year

Buzz items pulled from beat-writer reports, ESPN/NFL.com transactions, Pro Day recaps, and verified Top 30 visit reports in the 30 days leading into the 2026 NFL Draft. Each linked headline goes to the original source. See our full draft-week news tab for cross-prospect timeline.

Combine / Pro Day Measurables (reported)

Numbers compiled from NFL Scouting Combine results, Pro Day box scores, and beat-writer reports. "Reported" means cross-referenced against multiple sources; verify on nfl.com/combine for definitive marks.

College Career Stats

• 2023 Texas Tech (Fr): 41 tackles, 4 TFL, 1 sack — rotational
• 2024 TTU (So): 78 tackles, 9 TFL, 3 sacks, 2 INT
• 2025 TTU (Jr): 102 tackles, 12 TFL, 5 sacks, 3 INT, 2 FF — Big 12 DPOY

NFL Pro Comparison

Devin White (lower-end variant) — rangy, athletic three-down LB with coverage value and blitz upside

Mock-Draft Consensus

30-day trend: Rising

Ranks cross-referenced from ESPN's Jordan Reid top-500, PFF's 2026 Big Board top-200, and Daniel Jeremiah's top-50 (NFL.com). Realistic draft-night range reflects projected team fit and trade scenarios, not just big-board placement.

Advanced Stats & Production

Metrics blended from PFF grade sheets, school box scores, and Combine/Pro Day box scores. Position-specific: QB shows efficiency + turnover rates, WR/TE show route-running + contested-catch, OL shows pass-block grade + pressures allowed, EDGE/IDL show pass-rush win rate + pressure rate, LB/DB show coverage grade + missed-tackle rate.

Outcome Range

• Floor: Three-down starting LB in base packages
• Median: Pro Bowl LB in his second contract
• Ceiling: All-Pro in a coverage-heavy scheme

Scheme Fit

Cover-3 / quarters scheme that uses LB as coverage bracket; Fangio / Macdonald / Spagnuolo system

Pre-Draft Visits

Top-30 visits with the Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Denver Broncos

Signature College Game

2025 vs Baylor: 14 tackles, 1 INT-TD, 1 sack — clinched Big 12 DPOY in a single game

Sources

• ESPN Player Page
• Texas Tech Athletics
• 247Sports

Our scouting profile is assembled from these primary sources + cross-checked against ESPN (Kiper / Reid / Miller), PFF's 2026 Big Board, Dane Brugler's The Beast 2026, and Daniel Jeremiah's top-50. See our full methodology and citations.

Day 2 / Day 3 Team Fits

NFL teams that lost a same-position veteran this offseason — and could target Jacob Rodriguez as a Day 2/3 replacement option.

• REPORTED New York Giants: moved on from Bobby Okereke (MIKE-LB).
  Picks held: R1 #5; R2 #37
• REPORTED Cincinnati Bengals: moved on from Akeem Davis-Gaither (slot-LB).
  Picks held: R1 #10; R2 #41
• REPORTED Chicago Bears: moved on from Tremaine Edmunds (MIKE-LB).
  Picks held: R1 #25; R2 #57; R2 #60 via Buffalo

Confidence: "VERIFIED" departures cite a publication URL (Spotrac, OverTheCap, ESPN, NFL.com, team transactions page) confirming the move and date. "REPORTED" entries come from public free-agency trackers without a single canonical source we could attach. Fits are archetype-and-position based; we are not claiming the team has expressed interest in the prospect.

NFL Scheme Fit

Scheme matches are bucketed from the prospect's height, weight, and (for WRs) archetype tag against a static lookup of which NFL teams currently run each scheme family.

Rookie Contract & Landing-Spot Outlook

Contract band uses the 2026 NFL CBA rookie wage scale projected from the prospect's expected pick range; guarantee % is the slot-default at that pick. Landing-spot best/worst case is derived from TEAMS data (positional needs + scheme overlap minus same-position R1 conflicts) — not a claim that either team has expressed interest.

Versatility, Limits & Roster Pathway

Derived from height/weight against the 2026 position cohort and the prospect's projected round. Versatility callouts identify alternate alignments NFL teams have historically used for similar size profiles. Limiting-trait notes flag the single most-cited measurable concern; severity reflects how often that flag ends a Day 1 starter projection. Roster-pathway notes describe the realistic Year 1 NFL role for Day 3 picks.

By the Numbers — 2026 Class Context

• Frame: Among 2026 LB prospects, his 6-1 / 240 lbs frame sits at the 35th percentile in height and 96th percentile in weight.
• Position class: Jacob Rodriguez is LB #3 of 26 ranked LBs in the 2026 class. Of those, 3 are projected in the R1 range.
• School pipeline: One of 6 Texas Tech prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft — but the only LB.

Computed factually from the 2026 prospect class roster — height/weight percentiles benchmark this player against every other ranked prospect at the same position. Recruiting arc compares his high-school 247Sports/Rivals composite to his current projected round.

Jacob Rodriguez’s NFL Archetype: Fred Warner

Fred Warner (San Francisco 49ers)

Closest LB physical profile in the modern NFL: 6-1/240 lbs. Same frame, same role bucket — NOT a talent or career-arc projection.

Note: this is a physical-profile match — frame, position, role bucket. Not a talent or career-arc projection.

Similar Linebacker Prospects

Closest matches to Jacob Rodriguez (6-1 / 240 lbs, #3 LB) by ranking proximity and physical profile. SIZE MATCH = within 1″ height and 10 lbs; TIER MATCH = within 2 ranking spots.

• CJ AllenSIZE MATCH Georgia · 6-0/230 lbs · #2 LB · R1 15-25
• Josiah TrotterSIZE MATCH Missouri · 6-2/230 lbs · #4 LB · R2
• Anthony Hill Jr.SIZE MATCH Texas · 6-2/235 lbs · #5 LB · R2
• Jake GoldaySIZE MATCH Cincinnati · 6-2/230 lbs · #6 LB · R2-R3
• Kyle Louis Pittsburgh · 6-1/225 lbs · #7 LB · R3

→ Full Linebackers rankings

Texas Tech & The 2026 Class