Allen Park — The reason we’re using a photo of Brad Holmes for this story is because a photo of the player he drafted late Friday night is not available via the Associated Press wire service.
That’s how obscure the Lions’ third-round pick, Western Kentucky defensive tackle Brodric Martin, is.
Martin, who is graded as a seventh-round pick on a handful of draft sites, was selected with the No. 96 pick after Holmes traded picks No. 122, No. 139 and No. 168 to get him in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals. With the Lions cruising toward the end of Day 2 of the NFL Draft, Holmes made his fifth trade of this draft to get the hulking 6-foot-5, 337-pound Martin.
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“He just has a lot of physical traits that get you really excited about his upside,” Holmes said. “His testing numbers and all that stuff, this guy’s a big man, but he moves a lot better on film. He had a really good pro day. His workout was good. And it’s hard to find big, athletic…guys like that.
“He’s got a lot of meat on the bone. He’s got a lot of upside. He’s a big man. He’s athletic, he plays hard. He chases to the ball. I don’t think I’ve seen many 330-, 340-pound guys who run to the ball like he does.
“He’s got some rawness, but we’re really excited about his upside. He’s another one that, we brought him in for a visit, and he just kind of lit the room up with his personality and his mindset. … I think that (defensive line) coach John Scott is gonna do some really good things.”
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Martin spent four years at North Alabama (FCS) before transferring to Western Kentucky for the 2021 and 2022 seasons, where he was named honorable mention All-Conference USA. He had decent production in his 2021 season at Western Kentucky, making 31 tackles, including 4½ for loss, with 2½ sacks. He started 14 games as a sixth-year senior, racking up 25 tackles with 1½ sacks.
Martin earned an invite to the East-West Shrine Game, where Holmes said he started to sink his teeth into the prospect on a recommendation from area scout Steve Neal.
“(Martin) did a really, really nice job. And that’s really when he popped up on my radar,” Holmes said. “You see him playing in some better competition games like Auburn, and then you see some stuff kind of late. He just has a lot of physical traits that get you really excited about his upside.”
Holmes said the wheels were turning on a move long before it actually happened.
“We just kind of had to be comfortable with the capital that we were going to give up,” Holmes said. “We started making calls in the 70s, teams a little bit lower, 10 picks away and all that, just to see if we’re even interested, because it would be a little bit of a drop to 122.”
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @nolanbianchi