A few weeks ago, Detroit Lions linebacker coach Kelvin Sheppard had some pretty incredible praise for rookie sixth-round linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez.
“Malcolm Rodriguez is one of the brighter young players I’ve ever been with,” Sheppard told Detroit Lions Beat reporter Tim Twentyman. “This boy because by nature he is a smart player, but beyond that it is the work that he puts in. This kid came here in two days and knew both (linebacker) spots.”
With the Lions’ offseason activity coming to an end, Sheppard reflected on what Rodriguez could accomplish given his innate ability to understand the game at the level of an NFL veteran.
“To be honest, there are things I can do with Malcolm that you might have to scale back to a third-year player, to be honest,” Sheppard said.
One of those things is the green dot potential. The “green dot” refers to the one defense helmet (with a green sticker on it) that has radio contact with coaches on the touchline. This allows them to take game calls and then communicate with the rest of the defense. While historically the green dot has traditionally been awarded to the team’s middle linebacker, the Lions will award it to whoever they deem to be the best communicator among their three down linebackers, regardless of whether they play the MIKE (middle) linebacker -position or playing the WILL position (weak side) – the position Rodriguez currently holds.
“If you show me that you have the communication skills and mental capacity to handle this, you will wear the green dot,” Sheppard explained. “And (Rodriguez) is definitely a green point linebacker, a guy who has the skills to take control of defense.”
However, the mental side of the game is only part of the equation. Rodriguez comes to the NFL with some size limitations that could challenge his ability to actually execute on the field. His 30-inch arms are well below the NFL average, although his understanding of leverage from his wrestling background certainly helped with that.
Regardless, Rodriguez still has a lot of work to do before he really gets into the green dot conversation. He has mostly played with the third team during offseason activities. However, Sheppard admitted that no spot on the list is currently decided, not even that of veteran linebacker Alex Anzalone.
“[Anzalone]has most of his time in my room but that doesn’t make him a starter,” Sheppard said. “The things we did last year are not acceptable for the standard that was set this year, so don’t tell me what a guy did last year; I don’t want to hear it, especially not because I’m worried about my room. Now he has the most time on a task, so he gets the nod first, but that doesn’t mean it’s his spot. When the next guy does it and does it at a higher level, he understands, just like the other eight, nine guys in the room, that that guy is going to be the guy on the field in week 1.