How Jacob Martin can be a major asset to the Broncos defense
By Aric Manthey
The Denver Broncos recently acquired Edge rusher Jacob Martin from the Jets. What does the Colorado native offer? Let’s take a look.
In what resulted in the NFL’s busiest trade deadline, the Broncos made two trades on the monumental Tuesday. As we all know, Bradley Chubb was sent to the Dolphins for a lucrative package. The merits of the move has been debated amongst Broncos Country, but there’s no question that the package was too good to pass up.
In his absence, George Paton followed up the move with another trade involving a Pass Rusher. In an exchange with the New York Jets, the Broncos have acquired Edge Rusher Jacob Martin. A Colorado native, Martin is in his 5th year and now finds himself in a potentially beneficial situation.
With Randy Gregory and Baron Browning still nursing injuries, there’s a chance that Martin could be thrust into significant snaps as early as the Titans game. If you were to ask KOA’s Dave Logan, he would tell you that Martin is more than capable of handling that task.
During the flagship’s “Sports Zoo” program yesterday, the former Bronco and legendary HS Coach retells his story regarding the fifth year vet (The conversation starts at the 3:57 mark).
"“He’s a High School version of Robert Mathis/Elvis Dumervil.”"
Logan spent a portion of that segment raving about the Colorado-born player. To call him a “football-playing Jesse” is one thing, but comparing him to two HOF Caliber pass rushers is high praise (to put it lightly).
While none of us expect Martin to have that kind of career, it’s fair to point out some of the traits he shares with those players and how he can find a role on the field.
After signing a 3-year, $13.5 million deal with the Jets in the off-season, Martin soon found himself in a logjam at that position. With the emergence of the young rushers that they had drafted, Martin saw his snaps diminish.
Despite the reduction in playing time, Martin made the most of his limited snaps.
https://twitter.com/NextGenStats/status/1587528895741366272
That production follows a career year for Martin in 2021, who started 14 games for the Houston Texans. During that season, he tallied 23 tackles, 4 sacks, 5 Tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, 3 pass deflections, 6 QB Hits, and a Safety.
While the tackle and sack numbers don’t jump off of the page, it’s the other stats that should catch any reader’s eye. Five tackles for a loss and 6 QB Hits are good, but it’s even more impressive considering his career average for QB Hits is around 6.
That, paired with 7 career forced fumbles, tells me one thing. This is a guy that makes the most of his time on the field, regardless of the role. The numbers he has put up aren’t flashy, but they’re effective.
With over 28 career QB hits, this is a guy that consistently finds a way to be in the backfield. Over half of those hits came in his first two years as a pro (no starts during that time).
He’s no Bradley Chubb. That is obvious. He wasn’t acquired to be the replacement. Rather, I think he was targeted because of what he can do for an ailing Edge room.
Jacob Martin is the hard-charging, fast-moving rotational Edge that can come on and help you seal wins. The best pass-rush groups are stacked and Martin’s presence can help keep the entire group fresh throughout the game.
With two years and over 8 million left on his current contract, we’ll see if Martin can live up to the contract in Denver. If things don’t work, Paton and Co. can simply cut him with only a million in dead money.
However, if he can be the “football-playing Jesse” that Dave Logan espouses, then the Denver Broncos may have found a relative bargain in the fifth-year player.
For a 3-5 team looking to put on their rally caps down the stretch, there’s no question that Jacob Martin could be an unheralded piece to fix the puzzling Broncos 2022 Season. For the Colorado-raised kid, I’m sure there isn’t a better scenario to be in.