Friday was moving day for Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes. He traded up twice and back twice on Day 2 with the latest a move into the third round at pick 96 to take Western Kentucky defensive tackle Brodric Martin. Holmes gave up a fourth (122) and two fifths (139 & 168) to get into a position to take Martin.
"Let's call him an under-the-radar guy," Holmes said Friday night. "Non-Combine guy. Showed up at the East-West All-Star Game and did a really, really, nice job and that's really when he popped up on my radar.
"That's what made me dive deeper into his film. You see him playing in some better competition games like Auburn and you see some stuff kind of late. He just has a lot of physical traits that get you really excited about his upside."
Martin (6-5, 337) started all 14 games in his final season at WKU in 2022 making 31 tackles, including 1.5 sacks. He also forced a fumble, notched seven quarterback hurries and broke up two passes. He spent three seasons at North Alabama before transferring to Western Kentucky.
He's a space-eating nose tackle with long arms and a big wingspan, but he also possesses quick feet for an interior defender his size. He had a pre-draft visit with the Lions as part of their allotted 30 visits.
"This guy is a big man," Holmes said. "But he moves a lot better on film. He had a really good Pro Day. It's hard to find big, athletic guys like that."
He joins Alim McNeill, Isaiah Buggs, Benito Jones and others along the interior of Detroit's defensive line rotation. He'll improve with more technique and hand work, but his sheer size and athleticism is certainly a good baseline to start working with.
