The Texans’ secondround pick, Nick Martin, has a brother playing for the Cowboys.
In second round, Smith trades up again for center from Notre Dame
Forced to watch and wait while 3-4 defensive end prospects were scooped up in the second round of Friday’s NFL draft, Texans general manager Rick Smith traded up to select a player from Notre Dame for the second consecutive day.
With the best 3-4 defensive ends off the board, Smith dealt a sixth-round pick this year to Atlanta to move up from 52nd to 50 and drafted Fighting Irish center Nick Martin, the younger brother of Dallas Cowboys guard Zack Martin.
In the first round, Smith traded up one spot with Washington to guarantee getting receiver Will Fuller, who has the kind of blazing speed that can make him a big-time deep and an ideal complement to DeAndre Hopkins.
“We went to the well twice in Indiana, and, as a Purdue man, that was difficult for me, but I’ve man- aged to survive,” Smith said. “Nick’s got an NFL pedigree, and he’s an outstanding addition to our team.”
Martin, who was 6-4, 299 at the combine, fills two of the Texans’ needs because he can play guard as well as center.
Martin will compete with Tony Bergstrom, signed as a free agent from Oakland, for the starting job at center. He also can provide depth behind guards Jeff Allen and Xavier Su’a-Filo.
As a three-year starter and two-year captain at Notre Dame, Martin started at left guard and center.
“He’ll start off at center,” coach Bill O’Brien said. “His versatility, him being able to play guard, is something we really liked.
“He’s a very bright guy. We like his toughness and leadership, too. His coaches really spoke highly of this guy — a leader, someone who came to practice every day with a purpose, a guy who really communicated well with his teammates, in addition to his talent.”
Martin was the secondranked center in the draft to Alabama’s Ryan Kelly, selected in the first round Thursday by Indianapolis.
Martin grew up in Indianapolis. He admitted to being a Colts fan whose fa- vorite player is former Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday.
“I was open to any team, but when I saw that Houston, Texas area code, I got very excited,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier about it. It feels great.”
Martin was excited to relocate to Houston with Fuller.
“Oh, my gosh, absolutely — that was one of the first things I thought of,” Martin said. “We watched the draft last night as a family. I texted Will when he got picked.
“He couldn’t be a more explosive (receiver) and (a) better player and a better guy and teammate off the field.”
Martin said he knew the Texans have a vacancy at center after Ben Jones signed with Tennessee during free agency.
“I knew of that (signing), and, obviously, I’m going to work very hard when I get down there,” he said.
Martin said the player he looked up to the most was his older brother, Zack.
“We’re best friends, honestly,” he said. “We went to high school together and became very close. We lived together in college, best friends at the same time, and he’s the person I look up to.
“He’s the first person I go to when I (need) advice. He said we’ll pretty much be neighbors now in Texas. It’s pretty cool.”
When it was pointed out to him that Houston and Dallas hate each other, Martin laughed and said, “I know. It’s about 3 ½ hours from my brother. We’ve been teammates all our life (but) we’re enemies now.”
Big brother had good advice about playing in the NFL.
“The first thing he said is, ‘It’s a job, and you have to perform,’” Martin said. “‘You have to go to work every day and put in the extra hours. They’ll fire you if you’re not performing.’”
Martin started 10 games as a sophomore before suffering a season-ending knee injury. He returned in 2014 and started 29 consecutive games over the last two seasons.
Martin was introduced to O’Brien in Mobile, Ala.
“We met at the Senior Bowl, been in contact with them throughout,” he said. “Great staff, very excited to work with them and very excited for them allowing me to have this opportunity.”