Martinez’ coverage portfolio increased last season. He was a “pure cover linebacker” as a senior, Hansen said. Of his 902 snaps, Martinez lined up across a slot receiver 44 times. He played another 37 snaps in strong safety positions, including 19 snaps against Washington State coach Mike Leach’s five-wide passing attack.
“This last year,” Martinez said, “they left it all to me. Every single time we were in our nickel package and our dime package, I would basically stay in. We’d bring in another corner, and I’d go out and cover the tight ends, running backs and those types of things. I felt like this last year, I improved tremendously on that. I feel 100 percent confident to go out there and cover whoever I need to cover.”
Through production, Martinez earned Stanford’s trust on passing downs. Martinez held opposing quarterbacks to a 79.6 average NFL passer rating, according to Pro Football Focus. He was significantly better than the average 85.2 NFL passer rating FBS inside linebackers allowed in 2015.
Martinez’ plus-10.9 coverage grade was the highest of all inside linebackers in college football last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
Reply With Quote