From now until the 2023 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top-10 picks, all the way down to Day 3 selections and priority undrafted free agents. Today, I’ll be profiling Western Kentucky DL Brodric Martin.
#99 Brodric Martin/DL Western Kentucky – 6045, 337
Shrine Bowl
MEASUREMENTS
| Player | Ht/Wt | Hand Size | Arm Length | Wingspan |
| Brodric Martin | 6045, 337 | 9 1/8 | 34 3/8 | 84 1/4 |
| 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Dash | Short Shuttle | 3-Cone | |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Broad Jump | Vertical | Bench Press | ||
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
THE GOOD
— Thick body with large lower half and appears to have good length
— Strong upper body and holds point of attack against base blocks and isn’t washed against doubles
— Active and heavy hands with a fierce punch and hand fighter, routinely knocks o-linemen’s head back with his hands
— Shows more athleticism than you’d expect, stays clean on cut blocks, nimble feet, and shows some snap and burst off the ball
— Utilizes length well in the run game to create space against blockers, allows him to keep vision on the ball and stack and shed
— Energetic pass rusher on initial rush that flashes some moves, bull can be effective and utilizes push pull
— Experience on stunts and twists with foot speed to contain the edge
— Strong tackler when he gets hands on runners
— Gets hands up in throwing lanes
— Excellent overall starting and game experience
The Bad
— Can be a bit upright and tall out of stance and needs to keep pad level down to maintain leverage
— Shows light feet but not a tremendous athlete who will have some trouble closing and finishing
— Stalls out too quickly as a pass rusher
— Lacks go-to moves as a rusher and a coherent pass rush plan
— Needs to keep hands lower as a pass rusher
— Will lose vision on the football when he doesn’t use his length well in run game, hurting his ability to get off blocks
— Lacked college production, numbers dipped in 2022
— Played only two years at FBS level
— Older than typical prospect, six years in college
Bio
— Two-year starter at North Alabama (16 starts) before transferring to WKU for 2021 season, appeared in all 14 games in 2021 and started all 14 in 2022
— Western Kentucky Career: 62 tackles (6 TFL) 4 sacks, 3 PDs
— 2022: 31 tackles (1.5 TFL) 1.5 sacks, 2 PDs
— Had 81 tackles (nine TFL) and two sacks in two years at North Alabama after redshirting in 2017
— Zero-star recruit out of high school from Tuscaloosa Alabama, named West Alabama All-Star
— Played wide receiver to start high school career, moved to d-line as a 11th grade junior
Tape Breakdown
Martin has earned late draft-season buzz with several Top 30 visits, including potentially one to Pittsburgh, though it has not been confirmed. An unheralded player for Western Kentucky after two years at North Alabama, he’s a mountain of a man in the middle of defenses. Even watching him against Auburn, he still looked like the biggest man on the field. His length is also rare and he’s truthfully one of the biggest defensive lineman in the draft when you consider height/weight/length and wingspan.
On tape, Martin is a 0/1 tech playing over center or as a shade and able to plug the run. He’s hard to move and wash and holds his own against double-teams. He is #99 in all these clips.
But he’s more than just a plugger. He’s actually a pretty solid athlete for such a wide frame with some quickness of the football, balance to fight cut blocks, and overall light feet. He was used on stunts and able to set the edge and contain, won’t see that from many 330+ pound players, and even picked up a sack here.
Other athletic examples. I love this push pull as a pass rusher, a sorta “wow” moment for me when I watched him. As noted above, he began his high school career as a wide receiver and those sweet feet are still evident now that he’s a 330 pound nose tackle. Watch him over center here.
His long arms create space in the run game, allowing him to stack and shed and make plays versus the run. The last clip against South Alabama isn’t against the run but it shows his length and heavy hands, bobble-heading the lineman around. Hands are too high here and that’ll get you flagged in the NFL but it’s a good/funny example of his active hands.
But Martin isn’t a super-athlete, he’s not Jordan Davis or Jalen Carter, and he lacks a great pass rush plan. He leans on blockers and stalls out when his initial rush doesn’t work.
I couldn’t find his exact birthday but he’s an older prospect. Redshirted in 2017, lost the COVID year, so he’s probably at least 24 years old. For a later round pick like him, it matters a bit less, but isn’t something to put in the “good” column.
Conclusion
Overall, Martin is an easy player to like and his tape was pretty fun. He can stuff the run but he’s not a one-note guy. There’s some energy and pass rush juice, even if he’s gotta work on using his hands and developing his moves. He won’t be heavily used in sub-packages but can rush out of base, sorta similar to Montravius Adams. Martin is a 0/shade in a 3-4 or 4-3 system that does more two-gapping than one-gapping and want run defense first. There aren’t many guys of Martin’s body type to compare to in the modern NFL but I’ll land on Jordan Phillips with a ceiling of a Michael Brockers type.
Projection: Early-Mid Day Three
Depot Draft Grade: 7.5 – Rotational Player (4th Round)
Games Watched: vs Appalachian State (2021), at Florida Atlantic (2022), vs South Alabama (2022), at Auburn (2022)
