Blake Martinez.
The first thing to notice about Martinez during 11-on-11 drills is his awareness. You can see him scan the field and look over the formation. One play during Family Night on Sunday the offense split a running back out, and Martinez went with him. That’s something a rookie linebacker might miss. But Martinez was aware of what was happening in front of him.
Martinez isn’t an explosive runner — at the NFL scouting combine he ran the 40 in 4.71 seconds, which isn’t particularly fast for a coverage linebacker — and that’s the main reason he wasn’t picked higher than the fourth round. But he appears to play faster than that time suggests, and a little faster than what we’ve seen over the past year from Jake Ryan and Barrington.
For instance, on one play Sunday night Martinez matched up on receiver Davante Adams, and though Adams made the catch on a route breaking to the sidelines, Martinez was on his hip. He knew his assignment, and he showed the ability to turn his hips and run. It’s just that the pitch and catch were a little better.
We won’t know Martinez’s story in the running game until there’s live tackling in a preseason game. Barrington, for instance, is a thumper. Ryan also is a good hitter who presses the line of scrimmage and finishes plays. Is Martinez like that? Or is he a chase-you-down, rope-you-down guy like A.J. Hawk was later in his career?
All we’ve seen in the first week of practice when there’s no tackling to the ground, is that Martinez hasn’t been taking false steps, and he’s pressed the line rather than waiting for the ball carrier to come to him. We’ll see if does that and then finishes plays in live action.
It’s also worth pointing out that on Saturday morning, about a half hour before the official start of the 8:15 a.m. practice, Martinez was the lone player on the field stretching and warming up.
That tells you he’s a football guy, he’s there to prepare and get ready for practice. He’s a rookie playing full time, including running the dime defense even though he’s been with the team for only a few months. That’s a crucial role that requires multiple skills: running with a receiver on crossing routes, punching a tight end coming off the ball, staying with a running back, getting guys lined up correctly.
You didn’t see any glaring mistakes during Family Night. That’s a promising starting point.
