In Louis and Rodriguez, the Dolphins could have found LB tandem of the future
As Miami Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley watched his rookie linebackers hit the sled, he slowly nodded his head.
The clang of the metal echoed off of the stands yet Hafley appeared unfazed at the din. He watched intently, his eyes hidden beneath a pair of dark shades, only moving to replicate the rip move that the inside linebacker trio, composed of Jacob Rodriguez, Kyle Louis and Trey Moore, was being taught.
In the early days of rookie minicamp, nobody can predict the future. There’s a lot of time between now and the regular season; anyone that pays attention to the Dolphins knows that anything can happen. That said, it’s difficult not to think that as Hafley looked on, he couldn’t help but consider Rodriguez and Louis might just be his star linebacker tandem of the future.
“It feels great to be believed in,” Rodriguez said Friday. He and Louis struck up a friendship during the Senior Bowl. That they happen to both be “in this position has been unbelievable.”
Taken in the second and fifth rounds, respectively, Rodriguez and Louis arrive in Miami after stellar ends to their collegiate careers. Rodriguez was undoubtedly the best linebacker in collegiate football last season, cleaning up on the defensive award circuit, earning first-team All-American honors and helping to lead Texas Tech to its first College Football Playoff appearance. His unique ability to force turnovers — he had four interceptions and an FBS-high seven forced fumbles in 2025 — made him one of the top linebackers in that draft so much so that it was a surprise that he was still available when the Dolphins selected him 43rd overall.
The same goes for Louis, who entered the draft with a lot of buzz about his positional versatility thanks to his coverage abilities yet wasn’t selected until Day 3. A former second-team All-American, he racked up both six interceptions and pass breakups during his final two years in the Steel City. Throw in stellar performances at the Senior Bowl as well as his Pro Day, and it’s no wonder many analysts believed he could line up at safety.
“He just told that he was going to test my limitations,” Louis said of his early conversations with Hafley. “Whatever I could show him, that’s where he’s going to figure some way to put me at my best.”
The tandem has even recently earned praise from ESPN NFL and college football analyst Louis Riddick.
“They were easily the best players on the field at the Senior Bowl,” Riddick said on a recent episode of the DolphinsTalk Podcast, later adding that “they were flying all over the place, making play after play.”
To be an effective defense, teams must take away the middle of the field, Riddick continued, and the best way to do so is with off-ball linebackers that excel in coverage.
“Forcing them to throw outside the numbers, down the field is the hardest throw for a quarterback,” Riddick said. “The only way to make them go out there is if you have good coverage people, good defenders in the middle of the field and at the second level which is where Jacob and Kyle live.”
Internally, the early returns on Rodriguez and Louis have been nothing but positive. General manager Jon-Eric Sullivan praised Rodriguez’s leadership, instincts and playmaking ability. Hafley has already waxed poetically about Louis’ versatility.
The players themselves, however, just want to get adjusted to their new surroundings.
“We really just trying to get to know the team and get to know the system then however it works, we’ll do whatever we can to win for the team,” Louis said.
As long as the Dolphins reward All-Pro linebacker Jordyn Brooks with the new deal that he continues to push for, it might take time for the tandem to be mainstays on the field. Rodriguez, however, could potentially challenge Tyrel Dodson for a starting spot next to Brooks from the beginning of training camp. That, after all, was part of why the Dolphins drafted him.
“Iron sharpens iron, you know what I mean?” Sullivan said after the second round. “And anybody in this building that is afraid of competition or doesn’t welcome it or embrace it shouldn’t be here.”
Once the duo does get on the field together, the rest of the league might be in trouble, especially if their Senior Bowl performance was any indication of what they could do at the next level.
This story was originally published May 8, 2026 at 2:44 PM.
