Martin’s 2018 season
In 2018, Martin continued to fly under the radar at Indiana. He finished up his third year as a starter at guard and generally played well, blasting open running lanes for the Hoosiers. And after finishing up his career at Indiana, he declared for the draft.
In college, Martin mostly played left guard, starting 30 games at the position while playing 13 games at left tackle as a sophomore. Early on, Indiana realized that his better fit was at guard, so that gives him a lot of seasoning that should ready him for the next level.
Still, Martin was unheralded during the draft process, but he showed well at his pro day and threw up a whopping 38 reps on the bench press as he continued to demonstrate his strength and compact build. Despite this, he only earned a Round 5-6 grade from NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, who gave this analysis of Martin.
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"Three-year starter and two-time team captain who combines brains and brawn at his left guard spot. Like most Indiana blockers, he’s well-schooled and ahead of the game from a technique standpoint. He has functional athleticism but is better suited firing out that pulling or playing in space. He has NFL strength, but he plays with a lack of kneed bend that can limit his ability to anchor in both run and pass blocking. Martin offers plus value on Day 3 as a good backup with eventual starter’s potential."
Ironically, Zierlein compared Martin to Shawn Lauvao, who he will likely be replacing with the Redskins. But the differences between the two in terms of age, strength, and injury history is certainly wide, but the comparison to Lauvao is likely based on the early stages of the guard’s career and his playing style.
And despite Zierlein’s grade, the ‘Skins took a chance on Martin in the fourth round, so obviously, they like what he can bring to the team. They’ll be looking for him to step up, and his first chance to do so will come in training camp.