Nick Martin was regarded as one of the best linebacker prospects in the country before the 2024 season, but how does his full NFL scouting report look?
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Overview, Film Analysis, And 2025 Scouting Report Of Oklahoma State LB Nick Martin
Measurables:
5’11”
221 lbs
Player Background:
Nick Martin came out of Pleasant Grove High School in Texas as a four-star athlete. He was ranked among the Top-25 recruits at his position and within the Top-50 Texas prospects in the 2021 class. An early enrollee, he missed the first game of his freshman season and played in three total games, maintained his redshirt. He only racked up one tackle in his appearances, against Boise State.
He was a special teams ace in 2022 with sparse time on defense, making 15 tackles in 13 total games. Martin blasted onto the scene in 2023, proving to be one of the best linebackers in the nation and starting every game. He finished the season with 140 tackles, 16 tackles-for-loss, six sacks, two interceptions, and a forced fumble. His final campaign was ended prematurely with a knee injury after five games, recording 47 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble.
Accolades:
First Team All-Big 12 (2023)
Fourth Team All-American (2023)
Strengths/Pros:
Martin’s burst and downhill speed is arguably his best aspect, giving him a natural extended impact area and ability to make plays around the field. He’s a consistently good athlete who can be rangy at times and finish off plays that some other backers can’t make. He shoots through his hips and generates great momentum toward ball carriers. His energy gets sustained throughout contact and drives through rushers with great force.
His incredibly vicious attitude through tackles increases the chance of forcing turnovers and once he gets good contact with the ball carrier he throws them to the ground. Martin’s second gear hits almost always when tracking down rushers and he finishes some tackles really well. He has decent upside as a pass rusher, flashing solid force and drive through blockers to close the pocket. His special teams resume is lengthy and he could be an immediately important piece in that department.
Weaknesses/Cons:
Vision, processing, and instincts are the three biggest downsides to Martin’s game. He lets his eyes drag too frequently and gets moved off of plays easily. His eyes also drift too far downfield, running into players in traffic and giving up some underneath routes. He takes too much time to identify developing plays, getting himself stuck between multiple assignments and essentially being a non-factor. His violence leads to overextending himself early in plays against the run, and is without the length or quick rotation skills to make up for it.
Martin doesn’t have the compact movements to plant and shoot to close out tackles in traffic and his size and lower half anchor isn’t good enough to sit into his base and hold his ground against bigger blockers. He needs to expand his bag of moves when block shedding, relying on thrashing and brute force too much. His angles are very rough at times, trying to take sharper routes when he doesnt have the speed to catch faster ball carriers. He also has a far too high missed tackle rate, because of both a below-average grip strength and often bad positioning.
Potential Team Fits:
NFL Projection:
Martin’s athleticism should be enough to get him multiple NFL looks on its own. However, his processing is far too slow for him to realistically become an impact player. His speed and occasional range could give him some fair upside in some simpler defensive schemes. He’s incredibly violent at the point of attack and his tackling could be an effective trait on defense and special teams. He could develop more as a pass rusher to be a true multi-faceted defender, but the overall desire of his prospect profile is more of an idea than a reality.
Prospect Grade:
Late 5th Round to Early 6th Round
Film Exposures:
2024 vs. Kansas State
2024 vs. Tulsa
2024 vs. Arkansas
Main Image: Kirby Lee – USA Today Sports