Tag: Malcolm Rodriguez

Detroit GM Brad Holmes’ actions and words say his Lions will never draft a LB early

Brad Holmes doesn’t see value in drafting LBs before Day 3, according to his own recent words, his actions and his background

One of the more candid tidbits from last week’s press conference featuring Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes and assistant GM Ray Agnew came with the very last question. Holmes provided an honest answer that confirms what his actions in two years of running the Lions have indicated:

Do not expect this team to draft a linebacker early. Not with Holmes in charge.

In two draft cycles, Holmes has made it clear he doesn’t see value in selecting an off-ball linebacker early in the draft. His Lions held tight until trading up to get Derrick Barnes from Purdue in the fourth round in 2021 and waited until the sixth round in 2022 to snag Oklahoma State’s Malcolm Rodriguez. Barnes and Rodriguez will have prominent roles in the Lions’ 4-2 defense in 2022, along with veteran Alex Anzalone and free agent signee, Chris Board.

Eschewing popular, highly-rated prospects at linebacker is not an accident for Holmes. He strongly believes the value in the position is late in the draft, not early.

“You can always look at past success at certain positions that you may be able to hit on in the later rounds,” Holmes said, speaking in response to a question about Rodriguez specifically. He cited safety as well,

“I was talking with Ray (Agnew) about when we were with the Rams, drafted (safety) Jordan Fuller in the sixth round, but had a pretty good idea that he’s a high-floor player that’s going to end up being a starter, so – but there’s certain positions that you can kind of look at and assess that you may be able to find gold in the later rounds, and inside linebackers, it’s a good volume of them throughout the draft.”

It’s something Holmes has learned from his long tenure in the Rams front office. The Rams almost never valued LB before Day 3. Holmes surrounded himself with people whose history tells the same story. Special assistant John Dorsey took one off-ball LB before Day 3 exactly once in six drafts. From the research into their draft tendencies when Holmes and the front office were brought in,

In the time Holmes was the director of collegiate scouting, they took exactly one non-EDGE linebacker in the first 120 picks. That was in the first draft of that era when the Rams tabbed Alec Ogletree at No. 30 overall. After that, the organization did not value the off-ball LB above taking Samson Ebukam (who is as much an EDGE as an off-ball guy) in the fourth round in 2017. Guys like Bryce Hager, Micah Kiser, Josh Forrest, all later Day 3 draft picks, are the manifestation of how the Holmes-era Rams valued the off-ball backer.

It is the same with Dorsey, who was the GM of the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns before joining the Lions,

Dorsey’s drafts showed a similar pattern. In his first draft in Kansas City, he picked Nico Johnson in the fourth round, No. 99 overall in 2013. He didn’t take another off-ball LB before the fourth round until his final draft in Cleveland in 2019, Sione Takitaki in the third.

Believe what Holmes and Agnew said about not valuing linebackers early in the draft. It’s the cloth from which they’re cut, and it’s the same cloth woven around head coach Dan Campbell from his Saints and Dolphins days. Do not expect them to change their core value seams.

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Malcolm Rodriguez is seizing a starting role at LB right away

Lions sixth-round rookie Malcolm Rodriguez is seizing a starting role at LB right away, calling to mind a former NFL All-Pro

Ask most Detroit Lions fans what the weakest position group on the team is and you’re going to hear “linebacker” more than any other. But a late-round rookie is fixing to change that a lot faster than nearly anyone expected.

Malcolm Rodriguez has quickly, steadily climbed up the Lions’ depth chart at linebacker. From opening camp as one of the two third-team LBs to the end of the practices leading into Saturday’s second preseason game, Rodriguez is now taking first-team reps almost exclusively. And “Rodrigo”, as he’s become known from his starring role in the first two Hard Knocks episodes, is proving he belongs in the starting lineup of Detroit’s 4-2-5 defense.

Rodriguez was a tackling machine at Oklahoma State, a player with a preternatural sense of where the ball is going on every play. The superb instincts and quick reactions have already shown they translate very well to the NFL level for Rodriguez, Detroit’s sixth-round pick back in April.

His head coach, Dan Campbell, is definitely taking notice.

“Yeah, I would say he just continues to grow. He’s just – I would say at this point, he’s steady,” Campbell said of Rodriguez prior to Thursday’s joint practice with the Colts. “He’s pretty steady. He does what he’s being coached to do, and he just gets a little bit better every day, and memory-banks it and continues to go.”

In that practice, Rodriguez keyed an impressive red zone series where the Lions blanked the Colts offense. No. 44 shot through the line untouched and nearly took the handoff from QB Matt Ryan before quickly terminating the play for a tackle-for-loss.

People with no connection to the Lions or Rodriguez are taking notice, too.

Being compared to Zach Thomas is lofty praise, but it’s not unfounded. They’re about the same size; Rodriguez is 5-11 and told us early in camp he’s playing at 232 pounds, while Thomas was listed at 5-11 and 228 pounds in his rookie season with the Miami Dolphins back in 1996.

Thomas proceeded to quickly overcome his fifth-round draft status and started, no–starred, right away for Jimmy Johnson’s Dolphins. He led the team with 154 total tackles and two sacks and finished second in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting to Simeon Rice, who bagged 12.5 sacks.

Thomas would go onto a lengthy career with four first-team All-Pro nods by laying the groundwork for exactly how Rodriguez plays the game: smart, quick, tough. When we hear about Zach Thomas now, it’s in the conversation for being a Hall of Fame snub.

It’s way too early to look beyond even Week 1 for Rodriguez and the Lions. But it will be surprising if the good-natured rookie isn’t in the starting lineup when Detroit hosts the Philadelphia Eagles. Don’t be surprised if he leads the team in tackles that week, too.

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5 things to watch in the Detroit Lions preseason opener vs. the Falcons

The Detroit Lions take on the Atlanta Falcons in their preseason opener and these are the 5 things you should be on the watch for

Heading into the second year of the Brad Holmes/Dan Campbell regime, there is a lot of hype surrounding the Detroit Lions, who will be looking to start off on the right foot against the Atlanta Falcons in their preseason opener.

Coach Campbell mentioned we should expect the starters to play the first quarter, then afterward we should expect a nice healthy dose of players who are trying to make a name on the Lions roster. There are plenty of questions surrounding the depth chart, and hopefully, throughout the game, we will gain some insight.

Here are the five things to watch for as the Lions take on the Falcons to open their football season.

Lions stock report after the 1st week of training camp

Which players have helped themselves in the first week of Lions training camp and which have not?

We’ve now had seven practice sessions and the mandatory day off at Detroit Lions training camp. Three days in pads and four with less contact have revealed some players moving up, with others fading a little in the depth chart quest.

Here are some of the players who have helped themselves the most, as well as some who haven’t started training camp as well as possible.

Malcolm Rodriguez earns praise from Dan Campbell and more reps higher up the depth chart

Rookie LB Malcolm Rodriguez earns praise from Dan Campbell and more reps higher up the Detroit Lions depth chart

Monday was the first day in full pads at Detroit Lions training camp. Adding pads to the mix helped one key Lions rookie stand out in a crowded positional battle.

Sixth-round linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez earned some praise from his head coach, Dan Campbell, for his play on Monday.

“He showed up yesterday,” the coach stated, a big compliment in the world of Dan Campbell.

“His key and diagnose right now for a young guy is pretty good,” Campbell enthused before Tuesday’s practice. “As you see the competition in that room and you just watch — here he is, let’s just give him a rep. (Lions LB coach Kelvin Sheppard) has done a good job with that. Now there’s already a conversation about ‘let’s push him up to the next group a little bit and give him some more reps.”

Campbell also noted,

“We’re going to give those guys in that (LB) room a fair chance to compete and let the two or three best come out of there.”

Rodriguez has primarily been part of the third pairing at off-ball LB. Alex Anzalone and Chris Board have consistently been the top duo, with a mix of Derrick Barnes, Shaun Dion Hamilton, Jarrad Davis and Anthony Pittman joining Rodriguez in the mix behind them. Based on Campbell’s words Tuesday, it seems that Rodriguez is elevating himself in that grouping.

Malcolm Rodriguez: What draft experts said about the Lions LB before the draft

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Lions training camp notebook: Day 2 top observations

Lions training camp notebook: Day 2 notes on RBs and receivers, backup QB battle, rookie LBs and much more

The heat came on for Day 2 of Detroit Lions training camp. A sunny, unusually muggy morning session saw the players take to the field to build upon a largely productive first day.

Once again, the players were just in helmets and shells, i.e. no full contact as mandated by the collective bargaining agreement. That will change for Friday’s morning session now that the Lions have had two 90-minute practices.

Here’s what I saw, heard and noted from the second day in Allen Park.

Malcolm Rodriguez knows his Lions career starts on special teams

Rodriguez also brought up his HS wrestling career and how it motivates him

There is already a lot of buzz around Malcolm Rodriguez in Detroit. The Lions’ 6th-round rookie made his first appearance in a Lions uniform over the weekend and came away with a humble understanding of where he’s at in the linebacker hierarchy.

While many think he can emerge as an immediate starter in the underwhelming LB room, Rodriguez knows he’s starting from the bottom up.

“Definitely starting on special teams,” Rodriguez said in his media session. “That’s a kicker. Special teams is big here, so getting on special teams and working my way into linebacker.”

Rodriguez also noted he only really had contact with the Lions before the draft in the form of a combine conversation with Detroit LB coach Kelvin Sheppard.

The Oklahoma State standout harkened to his wrestling background. In high school, Rodriguez won two state titles. His explanation about wrestling shows the kind of character the Lions are attracted to.

“I was a two-time state champ. My sophomore year I got second,” Rodriguez said with a wry smile. “It kind of fueled me for my last two years, let’s say that.”

He did so by jumping weight classes. Rodriguez said he wrestled at 152 pounds as a sophomore by then won his state titles in 11th grade at 182 and 12th grade at 195 pounds. He indicated he will be “probably 225 to 230” for the Lions.

Athletic player comparisons for the Detroit Lions 2022 draft class

The Detroit Lions 2022 draft class athleticism compares favorably to strong NFL players and gives an idea what might be on the horizon

The dust has settled on the second Detroit Lions draft class under Brad Holmes, and a theme is starting to become quite clear. Under the Holmes/Campbell regime, they value high character players, especially those who were team captains. On top of that, they covet prospects with primer athleticism.

Detroit walked away with one of the top athletic classes in the 2022 draft and will look to continue building its foundation with potential cornerstone players and strong depth rounding out the roster. We will get our first glimpse of these prospects with minicamp right around the corner, but what kind of comparisons can we make on these players?

Using Player Profiler’s best player comparison feature and the Relative Athletic Score (RAS) tool, we can create a picture of what we could expect from these prospects from an athletic perspective.

Here are the best comparisons for the Lions 2022 draft class.

5 things to know about new Lions LB Malcolm Rodriguez

The Detroit Lions selected Oklahoma State LB Malcolm Rodriguez to continue adding to their defense and brings a successful history with him.

After trading down with the Philadelphia Eagles, the Detroit Lions opted to continue building up their defense with the selection of Oklahoma State linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez.

During college, Rodriguez was a four-year starter, playing safety his first two years, and moved to linebacker due to some injuries. However, his skills should be easily translatable in the Lions defense since he played a similar 4-2-5 scheme at Oklahoma State. The biggest knock Rodriguez has against him is his size, 5-foot-11 and 232 pounds with below-average arm length. But there is no denying his superb athletic traits that, with the right coach, could be used in the right ways which the Lions should be able to do.

Get to know the Rodriguez on a deeper level.

 

How will sixth-round pick Malcolm Rodriguez fit into Detroit’s defense?

Projecting how Lions 6th round pick Malcolm Rodriguez fits into the Detroit defense

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After trading back to pick 188, the Lions drafted hybrid safety/linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez out of Oklahoma State.

While a little undersized to play inside linebacker in the NFL, he should provide ample depth at the position behind Alex Anzalone and Derrick Barnes this season.

His skills in coverage might be better than most of the inside linebackers on the roster and he should be able to beat out players such as Josh Woods, Anthony Pittman, and Tavante Beckett for one of the top depth roles.

While he may not make much of a difference against the run, he could be an asset when Detroit needs to cover running backs and tight ends. His speed and agility alone can make up for his lack of size.

While he is surely not going to start anytime soon, he should be a valuable contributor on special teams right away and his positional versatility could land him a role as a defensive Swiss-army knife in Aaron Glenn’s scheme.