The Phinsider
The Dolphins rostered the NFL’s leading tackler last season in Jordyn Brooks. The former first round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft had a staggering 183 combined tackles while leading Miami’s defensive unit. His work speaks for himself, however it was the veteran who had some very strong praise for a Dolphins rookie who plays the same position and happened to go to the same college as Brooks.
Speaking with Dolphins media member Travis Wingfield late last week, Brooks lauded Jacob Rodriguez — Miami’s second round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft — for his play during his final season at Texas Tech. During that year, Rodriguez amassed 128 combined tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 4 interceptions, 7 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and defensive touchdown scored.
“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 is excited to mentor Rodriguez, even if that means training up his eventual successor. While watching fellow Dolphins veterans like running back De’Von Achane and center Aaron Brewer sign big money extensions with the organization this offseason, Brooks is still awaiting his well-deserved pay raise from the club. Will that new contract be agreed upon soon? For Brooks’ sake, let’s hope the wait is a relatively short one.
