Dressed as Goose from Top Gun on the Friday before Halloween, Malcolm Rodriguez looked the part. He had the flight suit, the aviators and the mustache, groomed that morning. He’s always had the fearless demeanor.
“It was either get a costume or get fined,” said the Lions rookie linebacker. “So I was thinking last minute, Top Gun, classic movie that everyone knows.”
A few months ago, hardly anyone knew Malcolm Rodriguez. Did you? He was a sixth-round pick hoping to make the Lions roster, slated to contribute on special teams if he did. He opened training camp playing next to Jarrad Davis on Detroit's third-team defense. And then he kept beating Davis to the ball. Davis said anytime he thought, “OK, I’m going to get the rock, shoot, 44 just came out of nowhere.”
“It was dope to have his presence next to me,” Davis said. “He’s earned that role that he’s got out there. He’s taking advantage of the opportunity and he’s done the most with it. I’m excited to see him continue to grow and develop and blossom into even bigger and brighter things.”
Rodriguez, 23, is blossoming as it is. He’s one of the best things to happen to the NFL's worst defense entering the Lions' Week 8 clash with the Dolphins. The Dolphins drafted a linebacker with their first pick last April, Georgia’s Channing Tindall in the third round. Rodriguez could probably tell you that. He knows that 17 linebackers were drafted before him. He knows a handful of them by name.
“Just one of those things I keep in the back of my head and keep working,” he said. “It was only a matter of time (before I got drafted), so I wasn’t worried or anything. I knew I was going to get to a good spot.”
Detroit might have been the best spot: the Lions have one of the weakest group of linebackers in the NFL. Rodriguez ran with that opportunity right into the season opener. He’s started every game for Detroit next to Alex Anzalone. He’s third on the team in tackles and tied for first in tackles for loss. He has a feel for the game and a nose for the football and a knack for snuffing out plays before they happen. In a word, Rodriguez has instincts.
He also has the tackling traits of a two-time state wrestling champion in high school.
“He plays linebacker the way I feel like you’re supposed to play it,” said Davis. “He plays with an attitude, he plays with a tenacity that he doesn’t want to be denied when it comes to getting to the ball. He’s hungry to be out there, he’s hungry to stay out there and he’s somebody that’s going to put his body on the line.
“I appreciate that about him, man. I feel like that’s been my style for so long and seeing somebody out there playing that role, playing the way I’m familiar seeing it and I envision, it’s dope. It’s super dope.”
Once upon a time, Davis was the Lions’ linebacker of the future. Now that title belongs to Rodriguez. He’s been the best linebacker from the 2022 draft this season, according to Pro Football Focus. In fact, Rodriguez’s defensive grade trails only three linebackers from the last three drafts: second-rounders Nick Bolton and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and third-rounder Logan Wilson. His pass-rush grade trails only first-rounders Patrick Queen and Isaiah Simmons.
Tindall, the 11th linebacker of the board this year, has played four defensive snaps for the Dolphins. Rodriguez has four tackles for loss for Detroit.
“I still got stuff to work on,” he said. “So far, it’s not been so bad. Obviously for me, getting wins is all I care about.”
Rodriguez only has so much control over the win-loss column. But asked where he wants to improve in his own game, he pointed to columns that lead to wins as the Lions try to shake a 1-5 start.
“Definitely gotta get some sacks,” he said. “Get some sacks and some picks and just being that playmaker out there, just make those big plays when we need them.”
Davis says they’re coming. The six-year vet has been watching Rodriguez closely in practice because “that’s where everything starts,” he said. “That’s where the foundation is built.” Rodriguez’s foundation is growing stronger by the week.
“I’ve seen him get sharper and sharper in practice and it’s carrying over to the game for him. All those goals that he has, those aspirations of showing up more in the pass rush game, getting his hands on a couple balls, he’s setting himself up,” said Davis. “Now it’s just a matter of consistently playing your role, doing your thing, being in your spot and eventually those things will come to you.”
Rodriguez would rather seek them out himself. That’s the way he plays the game, a man on a mission. When he does get his first sack – he’s already had a couple wiped out on intentional grounding calls – he said he’s “got a little something in mind” to celebrate. Of course, Rodriguez was one of the only Lions not celebrating after their first win of the season back in Week 2 because, in his own words, “I missed a couple tackles that I shouldn’t have.”
Safe to say, Brad Holmes and the Lions didn’t miss on Rodriguez.
“At the end of the day, I just want to win," he said. “I’m just here for the team and gonna do everything I can for the guys.”
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