Martin eager to show he belongs
Packers’ fifth-round pick has potential at LB
In an ever-evolving defensive landscape in the NFL, speed remains paramount. And it was made very clear to the Green Bay Packers in 2019 that while the NFL remains a passing league, stopping the run remains fundamental to victory.
The Packers haven't totally overhauled their linebacking corps this offseason, with veteran Christian Kirksey the premier addition via free agency to replace Blake Martinez. But the Packers drafted Kamal Martin out of Minnesota in the fifth round, and he has been working in virtual meetings at inside linebacker.
“It's making me super-excited,” said Martin, who is participating in the Packers' virtual offseason program from his home in Minnesota due to restrictions necessitated by the coronavirus. “I wish that we weren't going through this right now, but everything happens for a reason.
“We love football. Football is probably the biggest part of our lives. Not being able to be on the field and going through this stuff we're going through in
meetings is hard, but it’s all about perspective. We can’t wait to go back out on that field and when that time comes we know we’re going to have a lot of fun doing it. All the guys are in high spirits as well.”
While he is studying the inside linebacker position, the 6-foot, 3inch, 240-pound rookie brings some potential versatility to the defense.
Packers Midlands regional scout Brandian Ross said Martin played on the strong side in 2018 before moving inside last year. The analytics site Pro Football Focus noted Martin entered the Minnesota program as an edge rusher, then moved to a combination of an in-the-box defender and a slotcoverage position his sophomore year.
Martin missed five games his senior season — the opener due to a violation of team rules, one game with a foot injury and another three with a right knee injury that eventually required surgery in late December.
Invited to the Senior Bowl in January, Martin could not play but elected to head to Alabama on his own dime to meet with scouts and coaches. He did the same at the NFL scouting combine in February.
“It was definitely difficult because I wasn’t able to show it physically,” Martin said of the pre-draft process. “I really had to show the mental part of my game and the fact that I understand football really well. That was a huge part of my process and I took advantage of that. Just went throughout that process of high hopes of what I did on the board and the mental part of the game. That part definitely paid off.”
Martin said the plan was to be ready to do positional work in March at Minnesota’s pro day and he believes he’ll be able to participate in field work once it begins for the Packers.
“I thought he was going to be like a third, somewhere like third, fourth (round pick). Not fifth. I never would have seen him lasting that long,” Senior Bowl executive director and former NFL scout Jim Nagy said. “He was one of our highest-graded linebackers. You always get a little bit of a discount on those guys that are injured through the process. They got him at a little bit of a discount and if he comes into camp healthy — at minimum because of the size and athleticism — he should be one of the core special teams players. The guy has starter talent to do that in the league. There’s no question about it.”
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst and Ross pointed to Martin’s healthy 2018 season as to what he can really do on the field. Ross feels Martin runs at a 4.5- to 4.6-second time in the 40-yard dash and can handle coverage responsibilities.
“He’s a guy who can cover tight ends down the field,” Ross said. “He has some length and size to him that allows him to be more physical with those … tight ends who like to stretch the seam. I think he’s going to be a guy who will give you another versatile piece when dealing with those bigger, faster tight ends because of his ability to run downfield and play out in space and cover backs and tight ends.”
That said, Martin primarily played in the box in 2019, and PFF (72.2 run-defense grade) and Minnesota defensive coordinator Joe Rossi feel that suits Martin best.
“We got him in the box a little bit more and he was ... I just feel like he’s a natural there,” Rossi said. “The thing that he does really well was key and diagnose in the box, diagnose plays.”
Like all the Packers players, Martin is itching to get on the field, not only to show he’s healthy but that he can contribute as a rookie — even if the learning curve may be steeper in 2020 than for most first-year players. But Rossi for one feels Martin won’t be lagging behind in that regard.
“He’s super smart,” Rossi said. “He’s one of the smarter guys I’ve ever coached. So he learns really well. Scouts all the time ask, ‘hey, does he have to learn from reps?’ and Kamal is one of those guys where you’re saying no. You can teach it to him on the board and then he can go out and do it. Some guys, they’re not able to do that. Being able to do that lends itself to some positional flexibility.”