Finding Broncos: Scouting Texas Tech LB Jacob Rodriguez

Welcome back to our annual series, Finding Broncos, where we break down the coming draft class with individual scouting reports. Today, we're breaking down a very intriguing linebacker who could be in play for the Denver Broncos in Round 2, depending on how the board falls.

Background

Jacob Rodriguez was a dual-threat quarterback coming out of high school, and initially signed with Virginia. During his time there, he bounced around to every position on offense, except for the offensive line.

Rodriguez went to Texas Tech, where he finally switched to linebacker before the 2022 season, but his 2023 campaign was derailed by an injury.

Size

6-foot-1, 231 pounds.

Stats

Between 2024 and 2025, Rodriguez played 1,512 snaps on defense, forcing 10 fumbles and adding five interceptions. He added 112 stops, but missed 42 tackles, with a missed-tackle percentage of 17.1 in 2024 and 13.9 in 2025, respectively.

Pros

Jacob Rodriguez. — Texas Tech's Jacob Rodriguez pursues the ball against UCF during a Big 12 Conference football game, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, at Jones AT&T Stadium. | Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The production is exceptional, with high tackle totals and excellent ball production, including forced fumbles and interceptions. Rodriguez is quick to trigger, thanks to an exceptionally high football IQ and play recognition. It's rare to see him get fooled by fakes or misdirection.

There is a great change of direction with Rodriguez, and he flows well sideline to sideline, giving the defense excellent lateral range. He is also tough and physical when working downhill, tacking on blocks, or sorting through the trash to find the lane to the ball.

Rodriguez's tackling technique is clean and consistent, as he wraps up and drives through with force. When making a tackle, he often gets squared up and drives with force. He is a general on the defensive side of the ball, with his football IQ and ability to call things out to his teammates, which means he can be trusted with the green dot.

Rodriguez is a leader on and off the field, and was a team captain to prove it. He has the instincts, smarts, and athleticism to work in coverage, as well as proven ball production.

Cons

There is a serious lack of length with Rodriguez, which hurts him as a tackler and in coverage. Even with good tackling technique, the lack of length makes it difficult to secure the tackle and is a major reason for missed tackles.

In coverage, there is little margin for error due to Rodriguez's length, and even with big plays and instincts, there are more coverage busts than you would like to see. While he doesn’t bite on fakes and misdirection often, when he does, it's a big one that leaves a large opening for an explosive play.

Rodriguez can get caught on blocks, and big mauling guards on the climb do swallow him, so there will need to be more improvement on the technical side of shedding blocks. The lack of length is also a problem here and could get much worse at the NFL level.

In his final year, Rodriguez allowed over 80% of targets to get caught for 550 yards, the most of any linebacker in college football last year. Part of that comes from some overaggressiveness that can see him overshoot his coverage when working into the flats or even behind the line.

Fit With the Broncos

Even though the Broncos brought back Justin Strnad and Alex Singleton, they still need to add depth to the linebacker room. Rodriguez could use a year to develop and get accustomed to NFL speed, which could work with the Broncos' timeline, given that two starters are returning on renewed contracts.

Grade

No. 3 Overall Linebacker
No. 42 Overall Prospect
Second-Round Grade

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