2026 NFL Draft prospect Jacob Rodriguez reveals where his penchant for big plays come from and what his first big purchase will be after signing his contract. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)

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Jacob Rodriguez is one of the more intriguing prospects entering the 2026 NFL Draft.

The star linebacker will be one of the top defenders in the 2026 NFL Draft selected, with mock drafts projecting him to go late in the first round or early in the second round. The 23-year-old finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting after tying an NCAA record with seven forced fumbles on the season to go along with four interceptions.

What makes his story even more interesting is the fact that Rodriguez was a quarterback when he began his collegiate career at Virginia. It wasn't until he transferred to Texas Tech that he became a linebacker, first bursting onto the scene in 2024 as a First-team All Big 12 selection before really becoming a star this past year.

During Rodriguez' accolade-filled 2025 season, he won the Bronco Nagurski Trophy, the Butkus Award, the Lombardi and Chuck Bednarik Awards while also winning the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award. He was also named a unanimous All-American in the process.

"I think it comes from a lot of things," said Rodriguez in a one-on-one interview of his penchant for forcing turnovers. "I think it's something that we preach in the building and we're fortunate to have a lot of success this year, but a lot of it has to do with your teammates that are on the field. I think we have some incredible, incredible guys on the field with me this year who made my job super easy. I was able to go just attack the football, and they were there to do the dirty work of picking the ball up and being always around the ball, just like I was.

"We had guys who could get to the quarterback, we had guys who could play really well in coverage," Rodriguez continued. "It helps being part of such a great team, but more so great people. People I was able to care about off the field, and you go hang out and and just have a good time around each other. You tend to play harder and tend to play more aggressive with guys you care about. We had that in Lubbock this year and it was a lot of fun."

The 6-foot-1 Rodriguez is considered one of the top five linebacker prospects in the draft this year. Some mock drafts are projecting him to go late in the first round with some as late as the third round.

NFL draft experts have compared Rodriguez to All-Pro linebacker Jordyn Brooks, with others comparing him to Defensive Rookie of the Year Carson Schwesinger. Brooks has led the NFL in solo tackles twice while Schwesinger racked up 156 tackles this season.

"We haven't really talked about that much yet. We know that crazy things can happen, and we'll get more updates when the draft gets closer, but it's not something we have talked about yet," said Rodriguez. "I've been very, very cautious to even look at mock drafts, because you never want to get a skewed view of something that probably won't happen to an extent.

"Just really just fired up about the opportunity to be in this position," Rodriguez continued. "And if I am taken in the first round, or if I'm taken in the second round later on in the draft, either way, I'll be extremely happy to just be a part of the NFL, and be welcomed into that huge fraternity of guys who actually made it."

Jacob Rodriguez Reveals What First Big Purchase Will Be After Signing Rookie Contract

Rodriguez, who is originally from Minnesota and moved to Wichita Falls, Texas at the age of 10, is pretty modest and humble for a guy who is one of the top prospects in the draft. The Texas Tech alum said his first big purchase after signing his rookie contract will be a king sized mattress.

"The first big purchase I'm going to make is a mattress," said Rodriguez while laughing. "I've had the same mattress since I was 12 years old, get me a big, probably king size, one of the best mattresses that you can buy. I'll be able to get a good night's sleep and recover."

Jacob Rodriguez On Partnering With USAA Along With His Wife

Rodriguez is partnering with USAA for the first time leading into the draft. His wife, Emma Rodriguez, is an Army Black Hawk helicopter pilot and West Point Grad. The couple spent the day together and shared their experience that many military families go through which is being a long-distance relationship. Jacob and Emma visited a local flight simulator to test out his pilot skills while Emma coached him.

"I was fortunate to partner with the USAA Official Salute to Service partner, really just to show appreciation of military service members and their family alongside my wife and everything that it means to us," said Rodriguez. "I think it's something that's a big deal in our lives. It's very prevalent for us right now, and it just made a lot of sense for us to really dive into being able to serve in any capacity we can. It means a lot. They took us out to a simulator, and we got to go out there, and she got to try to teach me how to fly a little bit. I'm not as not as gifted in that as I thought I would be, but I'll leave that to her and the rest of the professionals.

"Everybody's been amazing," Rodriguez continued to say of USAA. "And like I said, it's just been a really great opportunity for us to be able to partner and really have the platform to be able to serve and support the military and their families as well as we can."