It's going to be a painfully long season for Miami Dolphins fans, as they'll watch their beloved franchise go through a massive overhaul under first-year head coach Jeff Hafley.
The San Francisco 49ers, meanwhile, can recall how those things can go. Yet they're fully expecting to wallop Miami when the Dolphins visit Levi's Stadium in Week 2.
One of the core building blocks the Niners drafted during those rebuild years still plays an invaluable role, All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner, whose defensive leadership has been a cornerstone for San Francisco ever since he was drafted back in 2018.
The Dolphins are hoping for much of the same out of their upstart first-year rookie, linebacker Jacob Rodriguez.
And it wouldn't be a shock for the Faithful in attendance to see a little bit of Warner in the promising Rodriguez.
Dolphins' Jacob Rodriguez might be on his way to Fred Warner-like career
The Round 2 draftee out of Texas Tech had himself quite the impressive debut in Miami's loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, logging a team-high 14 tackles, five of which were of the solo variety.
Rodriguez will nevertheless face a taller task in Week 2, however, when he's asked to provide coverage against 49ers stars like running back Christian McCaffrey and tight end George Kittle. Yet one of the rookie's calling cards during his predraft buildup was his ability to cover in space, which is precisely what made Warner a household name among Niners fans early on.
Remember, Warner donned the green dot his rookie season, a duty Rodriguez also has in his first year. It's clear Miami holds the backer in high regard right out of the gate, as the 49ers did with Warner his rookie year.
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San Francisco's offense has enough firepower to proverbially run circles around Rodriguez and the rest of the Dolphins defense, but if the rookie shows some pluck and capability, it wouldn't be a shock to see 49ers fans give a tip of the hat to the promising backer.
And one can't help think how a postgame on-field meetup between Warner and Rodriguez would go. The rookie likely would admit a full-blown admiration of the future Hall of Famer, whereas Warner would be heaping encouragement on Rodriguez.
If Rodriguez's career is even a mere shadow of Warner's, that'd be a remarkable thing.
Regardless, Miami is hoping Rodriguez turns into its own cornerstone around which it can build a contending squad, just like the Niners made Warner a figurehead of their own defense.
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