Free Press sports writer Tony Garcia gives an instant grade for the Detroit Lions‘ second third-round draft pick on Friday night, No. 96 overall:
Grade: D+
A pick that’s as off the board as this rarely ends up being successful. On top of that, the Lions gave up pick Nos. 122, 139 and 168 to move back into the third round and all they have to show for it is a limited defensive tackle — one capable of taking on blocks in the run game to allow linebackers to get downhill and wrap up, but not one who brings any pass rush from the interior.
With the success GM Brad Holmes has shown to identify Day 3 talent — Amon-Ra St. Brown in Round 4 and Malcolm Rodriguez and James Houston both in Round 6 — it feels like having three picks would be worth more than one defensive tackle who had a Day 3 grade. Then again, two of the three picks were acquired via other trades on Friday, so it’s not as if the Lions truly gave up additional assets for the pick.
Martin, at 6 feet 5 and 335 pounds, has the potential to be a true run-stuffing nose tackle, but his relative athletic score (2.14) on a scale of 0 to 10 graded out in the bottom 25% of eligible defensive tackles since 1987.