Round 2: No. 47 overall: Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech
Round 3: No. 78 overall: Antonio Williams, WR, Clemson
Considering the Colts lack a first-rounder, this would be a pretty solid duo to land. You just know GM Chris Ballard would have the hots for Rodriguez’s football instincts and character, as well as his playmaking ability, in Indianapolis. An edge rusher would have been nice, but the offerings weren’t enticing enough there. Grabbing Williams in Round 3 felt like respectable value. He’s a smaller-framed receiver and not a true burner, but Williams is a consistent producer who can make defenders miss.
Regarding Rodriguez, the 6,’1”, 231 pound senior linebacker for Texas Tech recorded 128 tackles (63 solo), 11 tackles for loss, a sack, 4 interceptions, 6 passes defensed, 2 fumble recovers, and 7 forced fumbles during 14 starts this past season—earning unanimous All-American, Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, and All-Big 12 honors (*for a consecutive year) among his other seasonal accolades.
Rodriguez arrived in college as an offensive “athlete” and leaves Texas Tech as a bigger-than-life, stat-stuffing linebacker. He’s uniquely productive, with elite tackle, interception and forced fumble production. He’ll occasionally bounce out of a run fit when chasing action, but he has the burst to race back inside and finish. He’s slippery working off blocks and navigating combo climbers. His lateral pursuit leaves the station on time and with a fast take-off. Rodriguez displays ballhawking instincts and outstanding hands but busted coverages were part of the package in 2025. His unbridled urgency and “make every play” mindset can inflate missed tackle totals, but the production should outweigh the occasional headaches. He projects as a long-term starting inside linebacker.
Meanwhile, Williams is a 5,’11.5”, 187 pound redshirt junior wideout who caught 55 receptions for 604 total receiving yards (11.0 ypr. avg.) and 4 touchdown receptions during 10 starts in 2025. He earned 3rd-Team All-ACC honors in the process, having earned First-Team All-ACC honors a season prior.
Williams is a bona fide ball player with good size and an ability to make mischief when he totes the pigskin. There is freestyling inside his routes that create uncertainty for corners but teams might drill down on attention to detail and better efficiency to keep him on schedule. He’s not a field-stretcher but he plays fast from snap to whistle and has the ball skills to bring in challenging catches. He’s more slippery than explosive with outstanding run-after-catch ability. Williams projects as a productive slot receiver with legitimate run/pass/catch talent that should appeal to creative play-callers.
Having traded former veteran All-Pro linebacker Zaire Franklin to the Green Bay Packers this offseason and with fellow veteran Germaine Pratt remaining a free agent, the Colts are expected to have a revamped linebacking corps come 2026.
Indianapolis did sign former Arizona Cardinals linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither, who previously played under their defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, only as an ex-starting member of the Cincinnati Bengals defense. While Jaylon Carlies remains an internal option, it’s a fair question of who will be starting at Indy’s two spots. In that regard, Rodriguez would present an immediate ‘plug-and-play’ starting linebacker for the Colts next season.
With the Colts trading starting outside veteran wideout Michael Pittman Jr. to the Pittsburgh Steelers, there’s a clear vacancy at their starting WR2 position, even with the Nick Westbrook-Ikhine depth signing. Williams seems like a nice wideout prospect for ‘Day 2’, but after reading that overview, it seems like he’s more current Colts slot wideout Josh Downs, who doesn’t need replaced, than Pittman Jr., so it’s at least a questionable fit in that regard.
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