Malcolm Rodriguez Starts NFL Career as a Detroit Lion

STILLWATER – I don’t get it. I think the entire National Football League is off their marbles that it took 187 picks to take Oklahoma State linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez. Give credit to the Detroit Lions as they were the ones that picked the Cowboys gritty defender that totaled 409 career tackles with the 188^th pick in the 6^th round. Rodriguez rocked the NFL Combine and rocked his Pro Day as well. The Lions will be getting a player that will bust his butt everyday and will produce.

Rodriguez watched the draft in his hometown of Wagoner, Okla. with his family and close friends, including his mom (Shanna) and dad and brother (Roman). The Rodriguez family is tight and supportive.

I spoke to Rodriguez shortly after he was picked and asked for a comment.

“Let’s go,” he said. “That’s it. It is time to go back to work and I’m excited.”

Rodriguez worked very hard following his Defensive Player of the Game performance in the win over Notre Dame in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl. He led the Cowboys in tackles with 11 stops and had an interception that helped clinch the 37-35 win. He stayed in Arizona and trained with fellow linebacker Devin Harper. Then Rodriguez executed his game plan by playing well and forcing a fumble in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. He went to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis and focused on the 40-yard dash ran a 4.52 and had a 39.5 vertical jump. Both were among the best at his position.

Bruce Waterfield/OSU Athletics

Rodriguez at Pro Day

Coming back on Pro Day back in Stillwater, he equaled his Combine broad jump at 10-feet even and blew everyone away with the best bench press rep number of the year with 36. He was like a machine. The Dallas Cowboys sent their linebackers coach, two members of their scouting department and a videographer for the Pro Day and showed lots of interest.

In his Oklahoma State career, Rodriguez totaled 409 tackles, 35.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, eight fumbles forced, 13 passes defended, and two interceptions. He had the pick against Notre Dame and then in his junior season a pick six in the fourth quarter to beat Iowa State in Ames.

Pat Kinnison - Chief Photographer

Rodriguez makes a Bedlam tackle.

He led Oklahoma State in tackles three straight seasons, earned second-team All-Big 12 honors twice, and as a senior was first-team All-American and first-team All-Big 12.

All this from a former quarterback that won three consecutive State Championships in football, back-to-back wrestling championships, lettered as a shortstop in baseball, and ran sprints and relays in track. When Oklahoma State offered him in November of his senior season he had offers from Wyoming and NEO A&M Junior College.

The NFL scouting reports label his strengths as instincts and abilities to sort through run-pass keys, natural feel for play/block development, balance in working through traffic to get to plays, leverage in both tackling and taking on blockers, and durability and toughness. His weaknesses are his size and his arm length.

Between the instincts, speed, and athletic ability (39.5-inch vertical) I believe he will more than make up for 30 and 3/8ths-inch arms.  

The Lions’ offseason training program includes OTA workouts May 24-26, June 1-3, and June 13-16. The mandatory minicamp will be held June 7-9.

Five picks later, Dallas drafted OSU linebacker Devin Harper. With those selections, Oklahoma State joined Georgia, Penn State and Ole Miss as the only collegiate teams with multiple linebackers taken in this year’s draft and became one of just 14 teams with at least three defensive players selected as Christian Holmes was later drafted by Washington.