Field Gulls
The former Oregon State and Miami running back fell to the seventh round, much to the benefit of the Seahawks. Let’s look at what makes Martinez a talented player.
Damien Martinez in the seventh round was arguably the Seattle Seahawks’ best value pick in the entire NFL Draft. Martinez was considered in the third or fourth round and fell into the Seahawks’ lap in the seventh round, for no apparent reason.
That doesn’t mean he was the team’s best pick, or that he’ll be an excellent player; he might not even make the roster. But, looking at the projections and where he actually ended up, he was the Seahawks’ best value pick.
In 2023, the Seahawks also selected a RB in the seventh round, Kenny McIntosh, who was considered to be going earlier and fell due to poor timing in the forty-yard dash. He ended up not having much room, but Martinez has a chance to do something different.
Damien Martinez started at Lewisville High School weighing 180 lbs. By his sophomore year he had gained weight to 215 lbs. and began to excel. He also excelled in track and field (sprints and relays) and set a personal best of 11.37 seconds in the 100 meters.
He arrived in college as a 3-star prospect, receiving offers from Kansas, Georgia Tech, San Diego State, and Texas State. Finally, he received an offer from Oregon State and developed a good relationship with head coach Jonathan Smith. In 2024, Smith left the Beavers to take over at Michigan State and that led Damien Martinez to enter the Transfer Portal, choosing Miami after visiting Arizona, Mississippi State, and Texas A&M.
The 21-year-old Martinez has received the following honors:
In 38 games, he rushed for 3,169 yards and 26 TDs on 514 carries (6.2 average); he also had 32 receptions for 391 yards.
When Martinez was drafted and fans started watching his highlights, some started to relate him to a former Seahawks player, due to his physical style and tackle-breaking style. The comparisons were to Marshawn Lynch and I don’t think they’re fair. However, it is easy to compare him to another Seahawk, also chosen in the seventh round:
Neither has elite top-speed, but both play with great physicality, break tackles and fight until the end of the play. It was a great shame that Chris Carson retired early.
Looking for connections with the University of Miami, we have more to see. In the recent past, we have chosen three RBs from Miami: Travis Homer (2019), DeeJay Dallas (2020) and now Martinez. Martinez was the lowest pick of the three and the one with...
