The Pittsburgh Steelers welcomed four more NFL Draft prospects on Friday including the Chuck Bednarik Award winner.
Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez was joined by North Dakota State quarterback Cole Payton, Washington cornerback Tacario Davis and Georgia Tech offensive lineman Keylan Rutledge.
The draft is April 23-25 in Pittsburgh.
Newly hired Steelers outside linebackers coach C.J. Ah You previously held the same job at Texas Tech, so he knows Rodriguez well.
The 6-foot-1, 231-pound linebacker was the 2025 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, earned All-American honors and finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting. He won the 2025 Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation’s top defensive player and the Dick Butkus Award as the top linebacker.
Rodriguez made 126 tackles as a senior last season, including 11 tackles for a loss, along with seven forced fumbles and four interceptions. He had 127 tackles as a junior and finished his college career with 13 forced fumbles.
“Rodriguez arrived in college as an offensive ‘athlete’ and leaves Texas Tech as a bigger-than-life, stat-stuffing linebacker,” NFL Draft analyst Lance Zierlein said in his NFL.com breakdown. “He’s uniquely productive, with elite tackle, interception and forced fumble production.”
A 6-3, 232-pound senior, Payton was named a second-team All-American at the FCS level as a first-year starter for North Dakota State. The left-handed quarterback passed for 2,719 yards and 16 touchdowns while rushing for 777 yards and 13 more scores.
The dual-threat quarterback scored 31 career rushing touchdowns.
His team went 12-1 last season, and he finished third in voting for the Walter Payton Award as the top offensive player in FCS.
At the scouting combine, Payton ran the 40-yard dash in 4.56 seconds and reached 40 inches in the vertical jump. Zierlein noted on NFL.com that Payton has “shoddy mechanics and subpar arm talent, but he still manages to deliver throws with touch to all three levels.”
The 6-4, 194-pound Tacario is a tall cornerback with a wide wingspan. He played his first three college seasons at Arizona before transferring to Washington last year.
Tacario made two interceptions in seven games for the Huskies. He earned All-Big Ten honorable mention in media voting despite missing six games to injury.
Rutledge (6-4, 316) started 26 games at right guard for Georgia Tech after beginning his college career with two seasons at Middle Tennessee. He earned third-team All-American honors from the Associated Press as a senior after playing 872 snaps without allowing a sack.
