Getty Malcolm Rodriguez makes a tackle in a 2018 game for Oklahoma State.
The Detroit Lions hope their last two rookie classes can lay the foundation for a change in the future, and if that happens, a big reason could end up being their 2022 class.
Heavy on impact defenders, the Lions saw a need on one side of the ball and elected to target it in a big way last year. Few would have expected them to land a future stud in linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez, but that could be just what happened.
Rodriguez had a solid debut on the field in Week 1, and as a result, has begun to open some major eyes for the team across the league. While Rodriguez was a darling on Hard Knocks, he backed it up with his play in a big way Week 1.
Pro Football Focus had Rodriguez as a top 12 linebacker in the NFL, and graded him at a 73.4 for his debut. As a result, he cracked Michael Renner’s list of the top 15 rookies in the league.
Renner admits that while Rodriguez had some concerns coming out of school, a lot of those questions have been answered already with his performance on the field.
“His instinctual play style has translated almost immediately to the NFL, and so far the size concerns that dropped him to the sixth round appear overblown, although he did miss two of his eight tackle attempts. His real impact came in coverage, where his three targets went for only 12 yards and no first downs,” Renner wrote.
The Lions have lacked a player who can stand up and cover on the back end at linebacker, so Rodriguez is a breath of fresh air with this in mind.
His play was impressive enough to place him amongst the elite of the elite in terms of new rookies early in the 2022 season.
Rodriguez Made Big Plays for Lions Week 1
Why was Rodriguez’s play seen as so good? There is a couple examples as to why that is coming from this first game on tape, and they point to the linebacker’s emergence as a major threat on the field.
Perhaps the best example was how Rodriguez managed a hip toss of Philadelphia center Jason Kelce. The video of this play was shared by Chris DiMaria, and it’s quite impressive tape for the youngster.
Watch Malcolm Rodriguez on this play. Getting blocked by Jason Kelce, the best center in the league and a guy 70 pounds heavier than him, and tosses him like it’s nothing. The guy is just something else. @malcolmlrod @CowboyFB @Lions #okpreps
Additionally, Rodriguez was stout in the middle for the Lions. He made plenty of big tackles, including this solid stuff that Dov Kleiman tweeted about.
Hard Knocks star Malcolm Rodriguez making some good plays today.
It’s clear that not much changed for Rodriguez from the preseason until now. He remained all over the place and made major plays on the field. That is a breath of fresh air for a Lions team that needed a boost at linebacker for their future.
Rodriguez Easily Detroit’s Top Week 1 Rookie
After an up and down performance from Aidan Hutchinson in his debut game, it’s easy to see that Rodriguez easily earned the title of Detroit’s best rookie based on his work in this game.
After all the impact plays in addition to a total of four total tackles on the day, Rodriguez was one of the best players on Detroit’s defense let alone a top rookie on the roster. He seemed to continue to be in the right place at the right time for the defense.
During training camp and the preseason, Rodriguez showed a knack for always being able to be in the right place at the right time and consistent in his game and toughness. That didn’t slow down after the first week of the season whatsoever.
It will be interesting to see if Rodriguez continues to remain high on lists like this into the future.
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‘Instinctual’ Lions Defender Soars on New List of Top NFL Rookies