Malcolm Luciano Rodriguez (born March 29, 1999) is an American professional football linebacker for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma State.
 Rodriguez with the Detroit Lions in 2022 | |||||||||||||
| No. 44 – Detroit Lions | |||||||||||||
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| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | March 29, 1999 Tahlequah, Oklahoma, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 234 lb (106 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Wagoner (Wagoner, Oklahoma) | ||||||||||||
| College: | Oklahoma State (2017–2021) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2022 / round: 6 / pick: 188 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Injured reserve | ||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 7, 2024 | |||||||||||||
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Early life
editRodriguez attended Wagoner High School in Wagoner, Oklahoma. He played quarterback and defensive back in high school. During his career he had 115 touchdowns with 6,144 passing yards and 2,449 rushing yards.[1] He was born to a Mexican father and Cherokee mother, holding a card for the Cherokee Nation.[2][3]
College career
editRodriguez joined Oklahoma State in 2017 and played there until 2021.[4][5][6][7] After starting his career as a safety he moved to linebacker in 2019.[8][9] As a senior he was named a first-team All-American by ESPN.[10] During his career, he had 408 tackles, 7.5 sacks, two interceptions, and a touchdown.[11] In his final college game, he was named the MVP of the 2022 Fiesta Bowl.[12]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
232 lb (105 kg) |
30+1⁄8 in (0.77 m) |
9+5⁄8 in (0.24 m) |
4.52 s | 1.54 s | 2.62 s | 4.13 s | 7.02 s | 39.5 in (1.00 m) |
10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) |
36 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[13][14] | ||||||||||||
Rodriguez was selected by the Detroit Lions with the 188th pick in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft.[15] As a rookie, he appeared in 16 games and started 15.[16] He finished with one sack, 87 total tackles, two passes defended, and one forced fumble. He was named to the Pro Football Writers Association All-Rookie Team.[17] In the 2023 season, he appeared in 17 games and started three.[18]
Rodriguez made 10 appearances (6 starts) for Detroit in 2024, recording 43 combined tackles, two sacks, one pass deflection, and one fumble recovery. On November 29, 2024, it was announced that Rodriguez would miss the remainder of the season after he suffered a torn ACL in Week 13 against the Chicago Bears.[19]
References
edit- ^ Kays, Mike (May 28, 2017). "MALE ATHLETE OF YEAR: Wagoner's Malcolm Rodriguez was a dandy 'Dog". Muskogee Phoenix. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
- ^ "Chris Steele, Matt Araiza y los latinos que llegaron a la NFL". TUDN (in Spanish). May 1, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2024.
- ^ Pryor, Ben (September 16, 2022). "Detroit Lions Rookie Malcolm Rodriguez Joins the Community of Indigenous NFL Players". Native News Online.
- ^ Unruh, Jacob (January 8, 2017). "The Oklahoman's All-State football team: Wagoner's Malcolm Rodriguez exploded, attained goal of earning OSU scholarship". The Oklahoman. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
- ^ Allen, Robert (September 16, 2020). "Malcolm Rodriguez Stay in Stillwater has been Rapid Especially for an Unrated Recruit". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
- ^ Henry, John (July 15, 2021). "Malcolm in the middle — again: Wagoner linebacker ready for final run at OSU". Muskogee Phoenix. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
- ^ Lederman, Eli (November 27, 2021). "'You'll love this kid': Rodriguez leads OSU to Bedlam and beyond after wrestling success at Wagoner". Tulsa World. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
- ^ Bonner II, Frank (September 3, 2019). "OSU football: Malcolm Rodriguez thrives in new linebacker position". Tulsa World. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
- ^ Wright, Scott (September 5, 2019). "OSU football: Transition to linebacker came naturally for Malcolm Rodriguez". The Oklahoman. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
- ^ "OSU's Rodriguez named to another All-America team". Tulsa World. December 14, 2021. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
- ^ "Malcolm Rodriguez College Stats, School, Draft, Gamelog, Splits". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
- ^ Wright, Scott (January 1, 2022). "'Back to the basics': OSU defense rediscovers aggressive style in second-half Fiesta Bowl rally". The Oklahoman. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
- ^ "Malcolm Rodriguez Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ "2022 Draft Scout Malcolm Rodriguez, Oklahoma State NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ Twentyman, Tim (April 30, 2022). "Lions trade down, draft LB Malcolm Rodriguez". DetroitLions.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
- ^ "Malcolm Rodriguez 2022 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
- ^ "2022 NFL All-Rookie Team". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
- ^ "Malcolm Rodriguez 2023 Game Log". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
- ^ "Sources: Lions LB Malcolm Rodriguez out for season with torn ACL". espn.com=en. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
External links
edit- Career statistics from NFL.com · ESPN · Yahoo Sports
- Detroit Lions bio
- Oklahoma State Cowboys bio