By Matthew Coller
EAGAN — When the Minnesota Vikings drafted Levi Drake Rodriguez, they were jacked up about landing him.
On draft day, former assistant GM Ryan Grigson noted that Vikings college scout Blaine Gramer had “conviction” about Rodriguez and that the 300-pound defensive tackle had a “growth mindset” that the team loved.
That’s normal stuff for draft day but the unusual part about Rodriguez’s story is that he went to college at Texas A&M Commerce. He played college football on fields where you could see the parking lot in the background. He played against future accountants and insurance salesmen, not NFL prospects like players who go to LSU or Alabama.
The Vikings knew from Day 1 that Rodriguez’s path to the field would not be immediate. He needed a lot of development to make the most out of his raw tools.
In his first season, LDR only saw seven snaps on defense. In Year 2, he started to show signs of progress and was on the field for 461 plays and made 22 tackles on unsuccessful offensive plays (per PFF).
This offseason, the Vikings drafted two defensive tackles, giving the indication that LDR would continue to be a role player. It seemed like he was likely to rotate with Domonique Orange at the nose tackle spot.
Instead, Rodriguez had taken the role by the horns, playing at least 50% of snaps in every game. Last week’s game against the Indianapolis Colts was a breakout game for him as the powerful DT had the third highest PFF grade of any defensive tackle in the NFL against the run on Sunday.
How did he take these development steps forward? What does his team see from his performance and how he impacts the defense?
That starts with his energy and attitude.
When I asked Brian Flores about Rodriguez on Tuesday, the Vikings’ defensive coordinator said that he’d just run into LDR doing his normal film watching and workout routine. That wouldn’t be notable except for the fact that Tuesday is the players’ day off.
“He’s really turning into one of our leaders on the team,” Flores said. “He loves it. He brings a great energy, an infectious energy on a daily basis.”
The players feel his drive and joy for the game.
Blake Cashman said: “I think with Levi, he always brings a lot of energy, effort, and physicality, which we want out of our guys on defense.”
Josh Metellus said: “He’s loud, very full of energy…I think his ability over the years to take his personality off the field and put it on the field and for us to feel him out there in his preparation, the way he works.”
Metellus said that he was in the building at TCO Performance Center rehabbing his shoulder and he would watch Rodriguez arrive there at 5 AM to work on his hand placement and footwork.
“To see it play into the season and for him to show up on the field and feel that energy — he gets up, he screams, there’s no smile on Sunday, it’s all energy, it’s all grind that he put in through off season showing up,” Metellus said. “I’m excited to see where his trajectory continues to go.”
Rodriguez knows exactly where all that energy came from: It was God-given. He’s been this way from Day 1. His religious faith also acts as a reminder that there are bigger things than football and he’s lucky to play a kid’s game. That helps keep his vibes good with the stress of a football season.
“I'm not denying that there is stress, but knowing who I play for is where I find that that peace, that energy, man,” Rodriguez said.
He also added that he deals with Attention Deficit Disorder and that he’s had to find ways to remain focused when he’s in meetings and studying tape. He said that defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen lets him fiddle with a deck of cards during meetings because he’s able to learn better when his hands have something to do.
“It’s keeping me sane in here, just finding ways to learn better,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve been doing that for quite some time, especially in high school and middle school, just finding different ways to learn.”
When it comes to his own personal film study, the 26-year-old defensive tackle keeps his tablet nearby at all times. He will pick it up and study for 30-60 minutes while watching TV or whenever there is time to be filled.
What he realized was the more film he watched, the better he understood what to expect on the field. And the more he knew what to expect, the better he played.
“The one thing I wanted to focus on from last year was runstopping, and I would just focus on formation recognition, and just applying what we take from meetings, walk through practice and [on gamedays],” Rodriguez said.
His study habits have not gone unnoticed by teammates.
“His knowledge of the game and his assignments in our scheme, he’s played very consistent there, and I think that’s why he tends to show up weekly making plays because in this defense,” Cashman said.
The accumulation of his increasing knowledge of the game and endless energy for putting in the work has resulted in LDR becoming a force. Guard Will Fries explained what he’s like to play against for opposing interior linemen.
“On top of his strength, his motor and his effort, every single play, like he never takes a play off,” Fries said. “You know that every time you block him, you're in for like a long match and he's going to keep, grinding and hustling and working his hands. So he does an awesome job. And, yeah, it's been fun to watch him dominate so far.”
While he’s overwhelmed centers and guards with his strength and motor vs. the run, Rodriguez’s role in the pass rush goes underappreciated.
“I think Levi has been such a huge part of the the totality of every call,” head coach Kevin O’Connell explained. “There’s moving parts to when you pressure as much as we do and when things are moving I think he’s shown some real instincts. And I think he’s shown the ability to hold up at the point versus double teams and allow some of these other guys to go make plays.”
What O’Connell is talking about is the DT’s role in Flores’ defense where they are more snow plow than pass rusher. Oftentimes in Flo’s defense, the defensive tackle is asked to move a guard/center out of the way for a blitzing linebacker. You won’t see it show up on PFF’s grading system as a win or in the QB pressure numbers but it plays a massive role in whether the LBs get to the quarterback.
“I’m super proud of Levi and quite honestly glad you asked about him because I think sometimes those guys don’t register a bunch of stats and things like that at that position, but they’re doing such an important job to allow others on our defense to go make plays,” O’Connell said.
Now as the Vikings get to face some prolific run teams in Detroit, Buffalo and San Francisco, LDR’s role will be one of the most important on the entire defense. The Vikings’ staff sees him as being ready for it.
“He’s really finding his stride as a player in this league,” Flores said.
For Rodriguez, this is the moment he’s spent a long, long time chasing.
“I’m just I’m grateful for the position that I’m in,” Rodriguez said. “This is what I worked my whole life for.”