The New Orleans Saints are heading into the offseason with eight draft picks to work with. They should seriously consider selecting Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez with one of them. With an aging Demario Davis, there's no reason to not add talent next to Danny Stutsman, Pete Werner and Isaiah Stalbird. Rodriguez has the ability to make an immediate impact or fight for a starting spot when Davis retires.
In his redshirt senior season, Rodriguez was one of the best linebackers in the country. Over the course of 14 games, he gathered 128 total tackles, six passes defended, seven forced fumbles, four interceptions, and one sack. All of those, minus the sacks, were career highs. All of that led to Rodriguez earning numerous awards, including the Butkus Award and the Big 12 DPOTY.
He also brings experience, as 2025 was his fifth year of college ball. A versatile linebacker, Rodriguez has played plenty of football and can do more than some might think.
If Jacob Rodriguez comes to New Orleans, he could even be a weapon for the offense
The tale of Jacob Rodriguez doesn't just stop at his achievements on the defensive side of the ball, for there is more to his game than just being a linebacker. In fact, it's not even where it started. Rodriguez's first position wasn't one you would find on the defense. It was actually one of the most important positions in all of sports: quarterback. He began his college career as a QB while at Virginia Tech before transferring to Texas Tech and switching positions.
That means that he could be utilized on offense as well. In 2025, he had three rushing attempts for three yards and two touchdowns. On those scoring plays, Rodriguez was also completely untouched, which only added to his Heisman hype. “Everybody’s talking about quarterbacks for Heisman,” Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire said when asked why he called the Rodriguez plays. "so we put him at quarterback today; he scored a touchdown.”
Rodriguez ended up not even getting an invite to the Heisman ceremony, but he still managed to put himself on the map in 2025. The hard-working, experienced team captain should expect to hear his name called in April, and the Saints would be smart to pick up the phone.