Jacob Martin hits the edge for Seahawks in the sixth round
The Seahawks go back to defense with their sixth pick, edge rusher Jake Martin of Temple. At 230 pounds, he’s even lined up at nose tackle. Yeah, he’s tough.
If there’s one defining quality of a football player, it’s toughness. That goes for the Seahawks and all football teams. The credo is to man up. You’re expected to battle bigger, stronger, faster men, because they are going to line up across from you at some point. When you find a player like Jacob Martin who played defensive end at 230 pounds, you take a long look. When you see he even lined up at nose tackle at times, you draft him.
Jacob Martin only had one start at Temple until his senior season. When he did break through, he broke through in a big way. In 2017 he had 44 tackles, 11.5 for a loss. He added eight sacks for the Owls. His best performance came against Tulsa, when he posted 10 total tackles. 3.5 of those were for losses, and he had two sacks as well. I imagine by the end of the game, the Golden Hurricane expected him to be in their huddle, too.
Martin wrapped up his college career in a 28-3 bowl game win over Florida International. FIU had not scored less than 13 points all year, and came into the game after scoring 41 and 63 points in their previous contests. Remember, Martin weighs in at a whopping 230 pounds, and played at defensive end for each of his 37 game career. except for when he checked in at nose tackle, of course.
Here’s a fun fact. Bradley Chubb, the consensus top edge rusher in the draft, applied pressure once every 11.7 rushes. Martin brought pressure once every 11.0. I’d say 38 pressures in just under 300 plays is pretty darn good.
Seattle Seahawks
If he’s that great, how did the Seahawks get him in the sixth round?
Great question. Why did he slip to the sixth round? Mainly, there’s no such thing as a 230 pound defensive end in the NFL. 245 is about as small as you’ll see. So despite his prowess on the line, he isn’t going to be a three down player in the NFL. Not on the defensive line, he’s not.
As you’ll see in nfl.com’s profile, he does have decent speed, though, as he turned a 4.59 in the 40. For rush packages, and the occasional rotation at linebacker, he should be just fine. Think of him as a slightly bigger, slightly slower version of Shaquem Griffin, and you’ll be on the right track. I believe the phrase is “mentally tough.”
Oh, and if you see him referred to as Jake Martin, that’s because he goes by Jake. I decided to avoid the confusion with Michigan wide receiver Jake Martin, who will not be in Seattle anytime soon. The Seahawks got the real Jacob Martin, and accepted no substitutes. One last thing. The reason Martin is wearing number nine, despite playing at defensive end? Only the toughest players get that number. Jon Ryan may want to make a trade, if he’s still with the team in a few months.