Sportsbook Insiders: Jacob Rodriguez Gaining Steam as Defensive Rookie of the Year Candidate

The Miami Dolphins' season has gotten off to a rough start, but there is at least one bright spot. Their second-round rookie from this year's draft, linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, has taken an early lead in the race for Defensive Rookie of the Year.

The 43rd overall selection out of Texas Tech has racked up 28 total tackles and an interception through the first three weeks, impressing football fans and coaches across the league. As a result, he is now listed as the betting favorite at the majority of sportsbooks, including sitting at +350 at BetMGM Sportsbook.

Despite being a second-round selection, he has been a popular bet amongst bettors both before and during the season thus far. In fact, according to Christian Cipollini, Senior Trading Manager at BetMGM, he has been one of the most popular bets to win the award:

"“Jacob Rodriguez has the fourth most tickets to win DROY and has seen consistent backing both preseason and during the [regular] season.”

Some are drawing comparisons between Rodriguez and last year's Defensive Rookie of the Year, Carson Schwesinger, as noted by Joey Feazel, Head of Football at Caesars Sportsbook:

"Jacob Rodriguez has been attracting some action as he is seemingly taking the same steps that Carson Schwesinger did last year.”

Both players not only play the same position, but they're also both in similar situations, getting plenty of opportunities on teams with bad offenses, as pointed out by Johnny Avello, the Director of Race and Sports Operations for DraftKings Sportsbook when comparing Rodriguez with the second player on the odds list to win the award, David Bailey of the New York Jets, who also hails from Texas Tech:

"They're both on really bad offensive teams, so they're going to be on the field quite frequently, so maybe that's the bettors' angle here."

Bailey sitting right behind Rodriguez on the odds list at +450.

Despite being a second-round selection, sharp bettors and sportsbooks were ready to treat him as one of the top defensive rookies. as Ty Gour a Sports Trader at Fanatics Sportsbook, points out, they weren't going to be caught by surprise by early-season success for Rodriguez:

"We were getting bets on him in the preseason. He had a great year at Texas Tech last year. We really staked our flag; even internally, we rated him stronger than the market, as a lot of the football traders here really took a liking to the way he plays and viewed him as a pro-ready prospect immediately coming into the draft. Since he's gotten to the league, he's proven just that. That action on him has been pretty steady throughout, and he's our third-most-bet selection since the season has started, behind Caleb Downs and David Bailey."

Rodriguez will get another chance to build his resume for the award when he and the Dolphins take on the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. The Dolphins are set as double-digit underdogs in that game.

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