Earning a scholarship and becoming a starter as a walk-on?
Check.
Being named the 2022 Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year?
Check.
Becoming the all-time leader in tackles in FBS history?
Check.
Carlton Martial found a way to accomplish these things and more during his five seasons at Troy. He cemented himself as one of the top linebackers in the country during the past couple of seasons. Next on the list is to see what he can accomplish at the next level.
But it all starts with the draft in April.
There’s currently not much draft hype surrounding Martial. It didn’t help any that he was forced to sit out of the Senior Bowl last weekend after dealing with back tightness. Besides his pro day, it was his best opportunity for him to spark some interest from scouts and GMs since he didn’t receive an invite to the upcoming draft combine. The limited buzz around Martial stems mainly from his size. Standing at 5-foot-8 and 210 pounds, he doesn’t have the stature desired by teams to make an impact on the field. That doesn’t mean he won’t be able to do so, though.
His height doesn’t take away from his potential, and his 526 career tackles prove this.
The Mobile, Alabama, product was vital in the Trojans’ dominant defense last season. Troy ranked second in the Sun Belt by allowing just 17 points per game. Martial averaged 11.25 tackles per outing and did his most damage against run-heavy teams – as you can imagine. This included a 22-tackle game against Army, a 13-tackle game against Louisiana, and an 18-tackle game against Marshall (the Troy Twitter account mistakenly put 17 tackles):
So, what makes Martial an elite defender?
For one, he’s a sure tackler and it’s rare for a ball carrier to break one of his tackles. His above-average wingspan helps him secure tackles from a decent range. Martial doesn’t struggle when he needs to recover on a play and is quicker than some might think:
Martial has excellent IQ and, when matched with his instincts, puts him in great positions to make a play on the ball. Because of his already-low pad level, he’s also usually in position to either make a tackle or fend off blockers. All-in-all, this bodes well for Martial to thrive against the run.
Against the pass, he’s fairly average at dropping in coverage and usually finds himself in solid position – both man and zone. There really aren’t many issues with his pass coverage. He knows where he needs to be, but it’s not likely he’dt find himself mismatched against quicker running backs or bigger tight ends in the NFL. Martial also isn’t the most effective when blitzing, garnering just 10.5 sacks during his career and only 0.5 last season.
Size plays a factor in all of his weaknesses, and is, unfortunately, the biggest hurdle for Martial entering the draft. As of right now, he’s expected to be a Day 3 selection. However, it’d be tough to pass on a guy with a motor and the drive of his caliber. He’s only going to show up to compete every day and make his team better.
Guys like Sam Mills at a mere 5-foot-9 and London Fletcher standing 5-foot-10 paved their way to long-lasting careers in the league. Sure, Martial is a tad smaller than these two, but he doesn’t play like it.
He started his career at Troy as an underdog and now is starting his career in the NFL as one.
Hopefully it ends the same way.
