This Texas Tech star wows with Combine numbers and earns a Hall of Fame comparison, catching the Cowboys' eye for a potential first-round selection.
FRISCO - Texas Tech's Jacob Rodriguez is beginning to see his NFL Draft stock climb as the big day in April edges ever closer, and the Dallas Cowboys connections are real.
They can be marked by his recent dinner with Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer to a comparison being made between Rodriguez and a legendary NFL linebacker who has Dallas connections.
Rodriguez, who surprised some by running a 4.57 50 at the Combine and then at this week's Texas Tech Pro Day hit 23 reps on the bench press, is doing all the right things in elevating himself to be worthy of being a first-round pick.
This week, he had dinner in Lubbock with the Cowboys, a session led by Schottenheimer.
"It was fun," Rodriguez said. "It was really great to be in the building and sitting at dinner with a head coach in the NFL. ... 5-year-old, 10-year-old me would be really happy, really proud. I was happy to be there.
"I loved it, loved all the conversations and looking forward to more."
The "conversation'' once pegged him as a second-rounder. But now?
Teams with picks late in Round 1 (like the Cowboys, who own selections at Nos. 12 and 20) are sniffing around the Red Raiders star.
And the latest comp is a flattering one.
ESPN's Mike Tannenbaum, the former Jets GM, has named Rodriguez as one player he would bang on the table for.
"Rodriguez reminds me so much of Hall of Famer Zach Thomas," Tannenbaum wrote. "He has an incredible knack for forcing fumbles (seven last season, 13 over his career), and he picked off four passes in 2025. Typically when someone is that productive and instinctive, it carries over to the next level.
"I'd want him on my team, even though he's slightly undersized at 6-foot-1 and 231 pounds. It's sort of impossible to think he won't make it as a starter in the NFL."
Meanwhile, new Cowboys coordinator Christian Parker's defense has a hole in the middle of it. We've reported in this space that Dallas plans to add a veteran linebacker, if possible, in the next few weeks ahead of the NFL Draft.
But if not? Rodgriguez at No. 20 - or maybe in a trade-down from there - along with young incumbent DeMarvion Overshown? That would make for a compelling tandem here.
As Tannenbaum states, Rodriguez is a little undersized, but given his ability to force turnovers and diagnose plays in seconds, we would argue that his ceiling is limited but that his floor is high.
And maybe all of that put together makes him like Thomas, who was just 5-11 and 228 as he starred at Tech before becoming a Hall of Famer during his time with the Miami Dolphins. ... all leading up to a brief 2008 stint for the Texas native in Dallas.
Rodriguez as "the next Thomas''? That is a lofty but realistic projection ... reason enough for Dallas to consider making that "5-year-old/10-year-old'' Jacob realize an NFL dream with the Cowboys.