Lions draft pick has a lot to prove after early selection
The Detroit Lions are proving to be one of the most polarizing teams in the 2023 NFL Draft so far. You either love their picks or hate them. There has been very little in between. Detroit has come in strong with a needs-first approach with almost all of their picks. You could argue that Jahmyr […]
The Detroit Lions are proving to be one of the most polarizing teams in the 2023 NFL Draft so far. You either love their picks or hate them. There has been very little in between.
Detroit has come in strong with a needs-first approach with almost all of their picks. You could argue that Jahmyr Gibbs at 12 wasn't a need based on the presence of D'Andre Swift, but every selection after that was on a player that should compete for a starting role.
The same can be said for third-round pick Brodric Martin out of WKU, but his journey to becoming a starter could be more difficult than some of his other companions in the early rounds.
Martin in the third round was a reach. It may sound repetitive at this point, but it is hard to put it in any other way. The Lions have been consistently higher on most of their players than other teams, for better or for worse.
The defensive tackle out of Western Kentucky was projected to go somewhere on Day Three, and consensus tends to agree that somewhere near the fifth or sixth round would make the most sense for a guy that projects to be a backup or rotational piece at the next level.
Martin doesn't exactly have a crazy college tape, and to make matters worse, his RAS (relative athletic score) paints a concerning image:
For those that are not familiar with this metric, these numbers indicate that Martin is essentially the perfect height and size. The exact opposite is the case with his athleticism.
A lack of athleticism in the NFL is traditionally a kiss of death for most players that want to start. Players do break this mold from time to time, but lacking the athletic talent to keep pace with other guys that are predominantly freak athletes that share your size is difficult.
Brodric Martin is going to do what he was projected to do well, but people need to acknowledge that expecting third-round production from this player is probably a bit too much for his rookie season and perhaps any point of his career.
However, it is hard not to hope that Martin is going to find a way to get it all to click in the NFL and create success despite his athleticism. It does happen.
