I'm a huge Damien Martinez fan. IMO in the "Best RB since Duke Johnson" debate, Martinez is the answer.
I'm still confused as to why he dropped so far in the draft - and my best guess is weight issues.
Who knows if this really affected his draft position. But if I were a scout, and a RB was fluctuating 20-25 lbs. (241 - 217) I'd want some answers as to why.
I hadn't seen his weight discussed much, and I had been posting there was weird stuff going on, so here it is.
241/232
241 is what he was reported to weigh at Oregon St. 232 is what he was listed at on Oregon St.'s roster.
238/230
238 is what he was reported to weigh when he came to Miami. 230 is what he was listed at on Miami's roster.
The announcer during the Iowa St bowl game said this (which has been overlooked - I think because they said it right after his 75 yd run):
"Aaron Feld strength coach for Miami said when he showed up he was like a potato. That's what he called him. Said he dropped about 12 pounds the first quarter of the season, got a little bit lighter, and that speed has shown up specifically in the last half of the season."
"That's a great point because Mark Fletcher was the guy that has some of that burst in the run game. Damien was slow getting going, but knocking off those pounds he looked like a different guy"
241/226
241 was his "verified" weight coming into the Senior Bowl. 226 was his weight at the Senior Bowl.
This is where it gets weird because (see tweet below) Martinez claimed he always played at 226. Which doesn't seem true. I think his team tried to control the narrative on his weight and it backfired.
217
217 was his weight at the NFL Combine. I still don't understand why he shed so much weight. If it was to run a faster 40, great, but his 40 time at 217 is kind of irrelevant if he plays at 230. If he told teams that was more his normal eight or what he plans at playing at, then his film as a 230 thumper is now kind of irrelevant.
I'm still confused as to why he dropped so far in the draft - and my best guess is weight issues.
Who knows if this really affected his draft position. But if I were a scout, and a RB was fluctuating 20-25 lbs. (241 - 217) I'd want some answers as to why.
I hadn't seen his weight discussed much, and I had been posting there was weird stuff going on, so here it is.
241/232
241 is what he was reported to weigh at Oregon St. 232 is what he was listed at on Oregon St.'s roster.
238/230
238 is what he was reported to weigh when he came to Miami. 230 is what he was listed at on Miami's roster.
The announcer during the Iowa St bowl game said this (which has been overlooked - I think because they said it right after his 75 yd run):
"Aaron Feld strength coach for Miami said when he showed up he was like a potato. That's what he called him. Said he dropped about 12 pounds the first quarter of the season, got a little bit lighter, and that speed has shown up specifically in the last half of the season."
"That's a great point because Mark Fletcher was the guy that has some of that burst in the run game. Damien was slow getting going, but knocking off those pounds he looked like a different guy"
241/226
241 was his "verified" weight coming into the Senior Bowl. 226 was his weight at the Senior Bowl.
This is where it gets weird because (see tweet below) Martinez claimed he always played at 226. Which doesn't seem true. I think his team tried to control the narrative on his weight and it backfired.
217
217 was his weight at the NFL Combine. I still don't understand why he shed so much weight. If it was to run a faster 40, great, but his 40 time at 217 is kind of irrelevant if he plays at 230. If he told teams that was more his normal eight or what he plans at playing at, then his film as a 230 thumper is now kind of irrelevant.
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