Big Board ranking: #86
Positional ranking: #16
Overview
Position: CB
College: Illinois
Class: Senior
Age: 23
Measurables
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 194 lbs.
Arm length: 31 1/8”
Hand size: 9 5/8”
Athletic testing
40-yard dash: 4.46 sec.
10-yard split: 1.47 sec.
Vertical jump: 44.0”
Broad jump: 133.0”
Bench press: 15 reps
3-cone drill: N/A
Short shuttle: N/A
Strengths
Quality overall build with plus length for the slot. Top-tier explosiveness and acceleration. Extremely fast and twitchy. Great versatility. Experience as a slot cornerback and single-high safety. Very fluid and smooth flipping his hips and moving in space. Very fast backpedal in cushion coverage. Great acceleration to undercut throws. Accurate getting a hand in and driving through the body of receivers at the catch point. Chops at the ball with a wrapping motion to breakup passes. Closes fast versus slant routes. Comfortably runs with vertical routes from the slot. Quick eyes. Gets his head around to locate the ball and play it in the air. Outstanding leaping ability. Good ball skills. Aggressive tackler. Great pursuit in run support. Works to defeat blocks. Wraps up from the deep safety spot. Plays with energy and fire. Has seen snaps as an outside cornerback.
Weaknesses
Allows too much separation with average mirror skills in man coverage. Will buy route fakes and be slow to react. Susceptible to double moves and gets caught with his eyes in the backfield. Footwork needs to be more efficient with a cushion in man coverage. Too often slow to react and will find himself in trail position. Will mistime his jumps despite leaping ability.
NFL comparison
Bobby McCain
Conclusion
Overall, Martin is an athletic and versatile defensive back that best fits as a slot cornerback in a zone-heavy scheme. Being used more as a blitzer and increased zone usage could boost Martin’s upside for an NFL defense.