The Dolphins left their opener with a loss to the Raiders, but they also walked away with something else: a rookie linebacker who already looks like he belongs in the conversation.
Jacob Rodriguez didn’t just have a good debut. He put himself in rare company.
The Dolphins rookie piled up 14 tackles on Sunday, the most by a Miami rookie since Zach Thomas had 9 in his first game back in 1996. Thomas followed that with 16 in Week 2, and Rodriguez still has a long road ahead before he earns anything close to the respect Thomas built in Miami.
Still, that kind of entrance is enough to get people paying attention fast.
And people are paying attention.
Within a week, Rodriguez has already started showing up in Defensive Rookie of the Year chatter. Kalshi’s early DROY rankings had him at No. 1 with 24%, ahead of David Bailey at 20%, Caleb Downs at 13%, Rueben Bain Jr at 11%, Sonny Styles at 10%, Arvell Reese at 9%, Mansoor Delane at 8%, Josiah Trotter at 4%, and Anthony Hill Jr and Cashius Howell at 3% apiece.
The buzz isn’t hard to understand if you watched the tape. Rodriguez seemed to be everywhere for Miami’s defense, and if you search his name on X, the clips are easy to find. For a second-round pick, he looked like the game was moving at his speed, not the other way around.
The outside recognition followed quickly. Pro Football Network placed Rodriguez in the top-20 in its impact metrics, Panini Senior Bowl named him Rookie of the Week, Pro Football Focus gave him a 90.3 grade for Week 1, and Brian Baldinger broke him down on “Baldy’s Breakdown.”
His teammates noticed, too. Dante Trader didn’t hold back when talking about the rookie’s first outing: "His poise is crazy.
He's very, very calm. His presence is calming to everybody else," Dante Trader spoke with the media and praised the rookie defensive captain.
"To be a rookie, to go out there with the green dot, making all the tackles, commanding the defense, and just being a dawg at the end of the day, it's infectious."
Now comes the real test. Rodriguez gets the 49ers offense in Week 2, and the challenge will be proving that Sunday was the start of something, not just a loud first impression.
He wasn’t the only rookie Miami had making noise, either. Chris Johnson was credited with two pass breakups and 11 tackles.
He was also blamed for allowing two touchdowns, though his head coach said he was supposed to have help. Rookie safety Michael Taaffe said he was responsible for the coverage mistakes.
Elsewhere, the Browns - who came in at No. 2 - had their rookies on the field for 16.7% of the snaps.
In Other News...
Texas Tech Fans Have Another Reason To Question Big 12 Respect
Even by the standards of conference politics in college football, it was a strange little reminder of where the Big 12 still sits in the national conversation. ESPN recently put together a graphic that got the date wrong for the Texas Tech-Houston game, even though the matchup is airing on FOX, and the mistake landed with the kind of frustration Red Raiders fans know well. It was a small error on paper, but the larger point around it was familiar: the biggest national platforms tend to spend far more time on the SEC, ACC and Big Ten than they do on the Big 12.
For Texas Tech, and for the league as a whole, that kind of coverage gap matters because visibility helps shape perception, and perception often follows teams all the way into playoff discussions. When a conference is treated as an afterthought, even basic attention can feel like a fight, and the ripple effect goes beyond one graphic or one broadcast. Big 12 fans have seen enough to know that getting noticed is part of the battle, and sometimes the fight for respect starts before kickoff even arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Fans Need To Know Whats Different For This Home Opener
Texas Techs home opener against Houston arrives with a few game-day wrinkles that fans will want to sort out before heading to Galaxy Stadium in Lubbock. The Big 12 matchup is set for 7 p.m. CT and will air on FOX, but the schools announcement also folded in parking instructions, new security protocols and a pregame flyover, along with a halftime performance from the Goin Band from Raiderland.
The extra details matter because the Red Raiders are trying to make the experience around home games feel bigger and more intentional this fall. Texas Tech also has rolled out the Every Seat Counts program, an attendance reward initiative tied to home football and mens basketball games, adding another reason for fans to show up early and stay engaged beyond the opening kickoff. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Could Force Houston To Prepare For A Very Different Offense
Texas Tech is approaching its matchup with Houston with a little more flexibility at quarterback than usual. The Red Raiders plan to have Florida State transfer Thomas Castellanos available alongside starter Will Hammond, giving them another experienced option from a resume that also includes stops at UCF and Boston College.
Hammond is still expected to handle most of the snaps, but Castellanos gives Texas Tech a potential wrinkle if it wants to change pace or lean into a two-quarterback look. Even with limited action this season, his presence adds another layer for Houston to sort through, and the uncertainty around how often he might play could force the Cougars to spend part of the week preparing for more than one version of the Red Raiders offense. [Read more 🡒]