Jordyn Brooks didn’t hold back when asked about the Dolphins’ rookie linebacker Jacob Rodriguez.
Miami’s leading tackler last season, Brooks knows the position as well as anyone on the roster. The former first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft piled up 183 combined tackles while anchoring the Dolphins’ defense, but even with that résumé, he sounded genuinely impressed by what Rodriguez showed at Texas Tech.
Rodriguez, Miami’s second-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, turned in a massive final college season. He finished with 128 combined tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 4 interceptions, 7 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and a defensive touchdown scored.
Speaking with Dolphins media member Travis Wingfield late last week, Brooks broke down what stood out most about the rookie.
“I think, at linebacker, the thing you look for is, one, the IQ, seeing how he’s controlling the defense. That’s the first part.
Getting everybody lined up, and then just the way he plays football. I think he’s different.
Personally, I think he had probably the best college football season, for a linebacker, ever. Just seeing the way he plays, the way he practices.
It wasn’t hard to see that, okay, this guy is for real.”
Brooks also said he’s looking forward to helping guide Rodriguez, even if that means he may be mentoring the player who could eventually follow him at the position.
The veteran linebacker is still waiting on his own reward from the Dolphins, though. While De’Von Achane and Aaron Brewer both landed big-money extensions this offseason, Brooks has yet to get his pay raise from the team.
In Other News...
Dolphins May Already Have Another Draft Class Problem Brewing
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Chop Robinson gives Miami a different kind of decision because the club does have a fifth-year option in play, and his 2026 performance figures to weigh heavily on how the Dolphins handle it. Elsewhere in that same class and the one around it, Jaylen Wright is not viewed as a sure long-term piece, Tahj Washington is fighting for a place at all, and Malik Washington has shown enough growth to look like part of the plan for now before his own contract situation comes due after 2027. [Read more 🡒]
Dolphins May Have Let 5 Costly Roster Mistakes Walk Away
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What makes the situation worth watching is that this is not just about star power, but about the supporting cast that helps a roster hold together over a long season. Miamis decision-making around players such as Kader Kohou, Cole Strange, Elijah Campbell, Jack Jones and Alec Ingold could end up being judged less by what it saved in the moment and more by what it leaves exposed later. The real test will come when the Dolphins need reliable snaps, familiar roles and answers from the bottom and middle of the roster, and those are the spots that are hardest to replace on the fly. [Read more 🡒]
Hill And Waddle Fell Agonizingly Short Of Dolphins History
Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle did plenty in Miami to leave a mark, but when it comes to the Dolphins all-time receiving yards list, both former stars ended up just short of history. O.J. McDuffie still owns the fifth and final spot on that leaderboard with 5,074 yards, a number that has become a small but stubborn benchmark for every wideout who has come through the building since.
Hill was closer than most people might realize, and Waddle was even nearer to becoming one of the five most productive receivers in franchise history. Instead, the current Miami pass-catching group is staring up at a record book that still feels a long way off, with Malik Washington leading the active receivers but nowhere near putting McDuffies place in real danger anytime soon. [Read more 🡒]