Nfl Draft 2026: Jacob Rodriguez Might Be A Day 2 Packers Target

Nose tackle and cornerback are the most widely talked about needs for the Green Bay Packers ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft, but don’t sleep on an off-ball linebacker like Jacob Rodriguez being a potential target on Day 2.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst indicated that off-ball linebacker would be an offseason need during media availability at the NFL Scouting Combine, suggesting that Quay Walker will likely depart in free agency. That opens the door for Green Bay to pursue another starting-caliber linebacker, whether that’s through the draft or free agency.

There are a handful of names to keep an eye on for the Packers, especially if they want another big body to replace Walker. Jake Golday could make a lot of sense out of Cincinnati at 6’4” and 239 pounds, as well as another 6’4” guy in Utah’s Lander Barton.

However, if the Packers are taking a look earlier for a potential starting-caliber playmaker at the position, Jacob Rodriguez from Texas Tech could be a sleeper pick on Day 2.

Rodriguez’s path to being a Heisman Trophy finalist is a wild one. His career started as a Taysom Hill-type quarterback with the Virginia Cavaliers before transferring to Texas Tech as a walk on and switching to full-time linebacker.

That moved helped Rodriguez develop into a star at the position. In 2025 alone, he finished with 128 tackles, seven forced fumbles, four interceptions, and three total touchdowns.

While a bit undersized for an NFL linebacker at 6’1” and 231 pounds, Rodriguez has some excellent instincts and surprisingly impressive play strength to consistently get in the right position, engage with blockers to avoid getting washed out, and make clean tackle attempts. His instincts and athletic ability also allow him to operate effectively in coverage, particularly when jumping throwing windows with good anticipation in zone.

Despite that on-field success, there were plenty of questions about Rodriguez’s overall athleticism coming into this year’s Combine. He shattered any preconceived notions by putting up one of the best days of any off-ball linebacker not named Sonny Styles.

Before agility testing, Rodriguez posted a 9.23 Relative Athletic Score (RAS) thanks to really strong scores in the 40-yard dash (4.57 seconds) and vertical jump (38.5 inches). However, that RAS will be even higher once the agility scores are added after Rodriguez posted an outstanding three-cone time of 6.90 seconds and a 4.19-second short shuttle, both tops among the linebacker group.

The craziest part about his three-cone time? According to Brett Kollman, players continued to slip while going through the drill, but Rodriguez was determined to complete the drill, finally doing so on his 10th attempt.

If anything, that’s a testament to Rodriguez’s competitive toughness, despite so many players at all positions opting out of agility testing (or testing in general) in recent years.

The biggest question now is whether Rodriguez will even slide down to Green Bay’s first pick at 52nd overall. He’s currently sitting at 60th on the consensus board, and while some teams will likely pass on him because of his smaller stature, others might fall in love with his competitive toughness and football IQ enough to be willing to take a chance on him earlier, especially after posting such strong athletic testing on Thursday night.

There’s still months to go in the pre-draft process, but as of right now, if Rodriguez was on the board with the Packers on the clock, I wouldn’t be shocked to see them consider taking a swing on a starting-caliber linebacker.