Tag: Brodric Martin

Lions rookie grades at the midseason break

Heading into the second half the season, it is time to give out midseason grades for the Detroit Lions rookies

Entering the second half of the season, the Detroit Lions aim to maintain their impressive 6-2 start. Apart from a few minor setbacks, the Lions have demonstrated strength across the board, thanks to excellent coaching and standout performances from their core players. However, the talk of the town centers on the immediate impact made by the 2023 rookie class.

Initially, the Lions faced criticism for selecting players in positions that many thought didn’t align with their draft value. Yet, when all was said and done and the dust settled, the Lions emerged with a remarkable haul and are already reaping the benefits as they strive for a strong playoff push.

As we reach the midpoint of the season, it’s time to assess the performances of all the rookies thus far.

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Lions DC Aaron Glenn updates the progress of rookie DT Brodric Martin

Lions DC Aaron Glenn updates the progress of rookie DT Brodric Martin, a 3rd round pick who has been a healthy scratch all season

The Detroit Lions raised some eyebrows back in April when they traded up in the third round of the 2023 NFL draft to select the relatively unknown Brodric Martin. The big defensive tackle from Western Kentucky was generally projected to be a late-round pick, which made it surprising to see the Lions aggressively target him.

It’s now raising eyebrows that Martin has been a healthy scratch in Detroit’s first five games. Considering the defensive line is regarded by many as a relative weakness, or at least was seen that way entering the season, it raises the other eyebrow with regards to Martin.

Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn did his best to defuse some of the harsh judgment on Martin. During his weekly press conference, Glenn was asked several questions about Martin, his progress and when we might see him on the field.

“Well, I can’t say exactly when he’s going to play, but I’ll tell you what, I like where’s at and I like how he’s improving,” Glenn said of Martin. “And that’s what we talk about with that player all the time, as far as his awareness, as far as how we play defense for the most part. Excited about that player still; I mean he’s still a big body that can move, so each week him getting the chance to go against our O-line is the best thing he can ever have.”

If that sounds similar to James Houston last year, you’re not mistaken. Houston went from the practice squad early on to being a flamethrowing sack machine late in his rookie campaign. Glenn carefully downplayed that comparison with Martin without exactly ruling out that it could happen again.

“Well, I don’t know about that. I think James Houston came out of nowhere to be honest with you,” Glenn stated. “We knew that he had talent, but man, it just – the rise that Houston had from going against our O-line, we were just talking about with Martin, was outstanding. So, we’re looking at it somewhat similar because he’s getting the chance to go against a good O-line and be able to practice those techniques that we’re teaching him.”

So where has Martin improved?

“Lateral agility for one, and he’s working after practice on that like every day. Alright, that’s the first thing; the second thing is hand placement. That’s something that’s been different for him on where he’s putting his hands. And just understanding exactly the way that we play defense,” Glenn enthused.

With the defensive line ahead of him all healthy entering the Week 6 weekend, it doesn’t look like Martin will play against Tampa Bay on Sunday.

Brodric Martin patiently waiting for chance to prove himself

Brodric Martin is waiting for his chance to prove himself, until he can he is going to keep showing the coaching staff how tough he is.

When a player is selected in the third round of the NFL draft, they are expected to play some sort of role immediately. In the case of Brodric Martin, he has had to wait for his chance to prove himself and that time may be approaching.

After being a healthy scratch in the Lions’ first two games to start the year, the health and performance of others in front of him would seem to point to him playing soon. Instead, Justin Rogers of The Detroit News writes that the plan seems to be to hold steady with Martin.

Rogers wrote about Martin’s situation while also speaking to the player out of Western Kentucky and stated “There don’t appear to be immediate plans to activate Martin in the near future.”

Martin notedly had a fun, active personality during training camp Rogers wrote but that has seemingly gone away as he continues to earn his keep on a tough Lions roster. Martin hasn’t lost faith in himself or in his belief stating “God has a plan and I’m just following God’s plan, I can complain all day, every day, but if it’s not in God’s will, then it doesn’t matter.”

When asking members of the staff and team about what exactly Martin needs to work on to become a starter in the league for the Lions they mentioned pad level, training his eyes, and mentally being prepared for everything the game throws at him. Position coach John Scott Jr. told Rogers “To his credit, we’ve seen some growth from this guy,” position coach John Scott Jr. said. “He’s continued to come on, like we’ve talked about. But it all starts with that, man, in this league…”

To Martin’s benefit, he remains on the team’s scout team defense for now so he is taking his licks and giving them to the likes of Frank Ragnow and Jonah Jackson. The saying goes iron sharpens iron and for Martin, it could be molding him into a bonafide starter sooner rather than later. He has the style and size that this front office and staff love, look at who is ahead of him on the depth chart. While injuries and performance haven’t pushed him into the limelight yet, it may still happen this season.

Until then, all the staff is doing is building the mental aspect of Martin’s game. According to Martin, “It’s definitely helping me grow mentally,It just builds up my hunger, every time I’m inactive. When I get my chance, you’ll see.”

The Lions defensive line needs more than just Aidan Hutchinson

Hutchinson has played very well but he’s too often the only DL doing anything well

There can be a lot of overreactions to an NFL team after two or three weeks, but I can assure you, this isn’t one of them. When watching the Detroit Lions defense trot onto the field, I can’t help but notice that their front four is limited outside of Aidan Hutchinson.

Through two games this season, the Lions talented pass-rusher Aidan Hutchinson has a league-leading 13 total pressures (per PFF: three hits and 10 hurries). Those numbers are great, but the lack of sack production is concerning — but not as concerning as the lack of pressure being generated from the rest of the defenders on the defensive line.

From what I can tell on tape, much of the problem for the Detroit Lions defense is how stagnant the interior defensive line plays. Their 41% pressure rating (per The 33rd Team) is 4th best in the NFL, but it’s only generated one sack.

While that pressure rating is great, the Lions are sending 4-man pressures 80% of the time, and that’s the 5th-most in the NFL. As the season progresses, teams will transition to a quick passing attack like the Seahawks did and it will lead to more struggles for the defense.

According to Pro Football Reference, the Lions have 23 total pressures this season. Defensive linemen such as Benito Jones and John Cominsky have both played over 55% of the snaps this season. Only Cominsky has generated a pressure. Just one single pressure. Defensive lineman Alim McNeil has played 71% of the team’s snaps this season and he hasn’t generated one pressure either.

Not having more blitzes or a better pass rush from the interior defensive line is what is really hurting this defense. The Lions have a potential premier pass rusher in Aidan Hutchinson getting chipped from tight ends or double-teamed from tackles and guards on just about every single pass rush.

What makes all of this more surprising is the personnel statistics that have been charted on the Lions’ defense so far this season. According to personnel statistics (powered by SIS) from the 33rd Team, the Lions run zone coverage 64% of the time and man coverage 21% of the time.

Whether it be aligned in Cover 1 (man coverage) or Cover 3 (zone coverage), it’s not getting the job done for the Lions defense. So my question to Aaron Glenn is why aren’t you blitzing more? Blitzing more would indicate more 5 or 6-man pressures. Maybe, just maybe, that’ll generate the sack production that this defense desperately needs.

With injuries to Josh Paschal and James Houston, the Lions are going to have to get creative with their defensive personnel. I say that because I don’t see this team going out and signing a free agent defensive lineman to help generate more pressure. Instead, they’ll handle it within the organization but they’re going to have to figure it out quickly.

Maybe we’ll see players such as Brodric Martin and Isaiah Buggs provide a spark for the interior once they hit the field. But we don’t know when that will be. One can only hope that they’ll make a decision made on how to generate more pressure. If not, things could get uglier for this defense sooner rather than later.

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Lions inactive players for Week 2 include two DTs

Lions inactive players for Week 2 include DTs Isaiah Buggs and Brodric Martin vss. the Seahawks

Lions fans will have to wait a little longer before seeing the Detroit debut of third-round pick, Brodric Martin. The defensive tackle is one of five Lions who are inactive for the Week 2 matchup in Ford Field with the Seattle Seahawks.

Martin and Isaiah Buggs, who was projected to be the starting nose tackle for most of the offseason, are both inactive. The beefy duo was also inactive in the Week 1 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

With left tackle Taylor Decker and cornerback Emmanuel Moseley already ruled out with injuries, there was only one other player who needed to be inactive. The Lions coaching staff chose undrafted rookie CB Steven Gilmore.

Defensive lineman Josh Paschal and cornerback Khalil Dorsey were placed on I.R. on Saturday, so they are not inactive declarations for Sunday’s game.

Isaiah Buggs benched for the Lions opener, downplays his social media controversy

Nose tackle Isaiah Buggs says he’s benched for the Lions opener, and also downplays his weekend social media controversy

Lions nose tackle Isaiah Buggs was the focus of attention on Monday. As is often the case when a nose tackle is prominent, it’s not a positive for the big man.

Buggs acknowledged that he’s been benched by head coach Dan Campbell for the Week 1 opener in Kansas City. It has nothing to do with the injury that he suffered in the preseason finale against the Giants, which he labeled as simply “just got shook up.” And it also is unrelated to the illness that kept him out of Saturday’s practice session, when he was the only Lions player not a participant in the period open to the media.

“I’m going to be straightforward with it, because they were straightforward with me with that,” Buggs declared. “And as of right now, I will not be playing.”

He added,

“I didn’t know that. It was a surprise to me, actually. That’s why I say — you don’t always know everything.”

Considered a locker room pillar and fresh off receiving a nice two-year contract earlier this offseason, it’s an unusual decision. Buggs is the projected starter at DT along with Alim McNeill.

“You thinking they’re all in with you, and then, ‘Boom.’ With a snap of your finger, it’s like that. Like I said, I’ve always been a team player, I’ve always been a role player. Whatever they have for me, that’s what I’m going to do.”

The Lions have Benito Jones and third-round rookie Brodric Martin to play the nose in Buggs’ place. Levi Onwuzurike can also fill in at DT alongside McNeill, who can play any spot on the interior.

Buggs also downplayed the ambiguously ominous social media posts that sent Lions fans agog over the weekend.

“It’s nothing to address, to be honest,” Buggs said. “It’s nothing to address. Like I say, things change, relationships change. There’s nothing to address, honestly,” Buggs said. “I’m just saying in life, period. It’s nothing dealing with football. It’s nothing dealing with here (the Lions). I’m just saying, so I don’t want anybody to take that context and run with it. But at the same time, relationships do change. That’s all I’m going to say, it’s nothing else to say about that.”

Lions training camp winners and losers from the early days in pads

Lions training camp winners and losers from the first three days of padded, full-contact practice

The first week (and change) of Detroit Lions training camp is in the books. Head coach Dan Campbell has presided over a lot of action to start his third training camp at the helm in Detroit.

Three of the last four practices featured full pads and contact. Those are the most important ones for evaluation purposes.

Here are the players who stood out to me as winners and losers in the padded practice sessions at the start of Lions training camp.

Lions camp notebook: The fans arrive and see a defensive display

Lions camp notebook for Saturday, July 29th: The fans arrive and see a defensive display

Saturday morning’s practice session at the Detroit Lions training camp featured fans in the stands for the first time. An enthusiastic capacity crowd watched a lot of team drills on a damp, occasionally sunny morning.

Here’s what stood out to me from the second padded practice session of the summer.

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Draft reaction: Detroit Lions select DL Brodric Martin No. 96 overall

Draft reaction: Detroit Lions select Western Kentucky DL Brodric Martin in the third round

The Detroit Lions add yet another talent to their ever-improving and youthful defensive line with the addition of Western Kentucky defensive tackle Brodric Martin.

A two-year starter for the Hilltoppers, Martin proved to be a force along the interior defensive line both as a run stopper and a pass rusher. With excellent burst and a superior anchor, Martin was clearly the best defensive lineman on the Western Kentucky roster and it showed through in both his film and stat line. In his final college season, Martin was able to manage 22 quarterback pressures, two quarterback hits, and two sacks on the year.

With the Lions, Martin will be developed behind veteran Isaiah Buggs where he can refine his rather raw skillset. Martin’s athletic upside and pass-rushing ability could ensure he will have the opportunity to start as soon as the 2024 season. Having a potential disruptive starter as soon as next is pretty good value for a late third-round draft pick.

3 surprising contributors for the Detroit Lions defense in 2023

Lions Wire’s Russell Brown identifies three surprising contributors for the Detroit Lions defense in 2023

Much like we did with the offense, we’re going to go to the other side of the football and look at the potential of the Lions defensive unit. There’s a lot more talent and depth on this defense than there was a season ago. Surprisingly enough, I think we could see some strong contributions from the defensive players the Lions selected in the 2023 NFL Draft. Let’s jump into the three players that could surprise a lot of people this season.

This is the companion piece for the offensive edition.