The key to DE Jacob Martin’s progression with Seahawks

Jul 8, 2019, 11:02 AM

Seahawks' DE Jacob Martin is entering his second season with Seattle. (Getty)

(Getty)

Seattle Sports

The Seahawks kick off training camp on July 25, and until then, Brock Huard and Mike Salk will count down the top 25 most intriguing Seahawks every weekday at 8:30 a.m. Their list continues with No. 13: DE/LB Jacob Martin.

Quick Look

• Drafted out of Temple in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft.
• Finished his rookie season with three sacks, two forced fumbles, eight quarterback hits and seven tackles.

What Jake Heaps says

“I think the one thing that stands out more than anything is his percentage of pressures,” Heaps said during Monday morning’s Brock and Salk. “His snap totals weren’t high, but the fact that he was able to get a high pressure percentage is a thing that the Seahawks are drawing positivity from… when you look at this you go, OK, Jacob Martin has the ability to catch the edge and get (sacks). The big question to me moving forward is can he keep his weight up?”

Jacob Martin explains how he’s changed his offseason prep

In an interview with 710 ESPN Seattle’s John Clayton, Martin said he switched up his training this offseason, with a focus on getting his body prepped for football, rather than just for the NFL scouting combine.

“He’s going to be a factor for us… (but) we need to develop him physically and maintain his girth,” head coach Pete Carroll said of Martin. “He lost about 20 pounds over the season, and that affected him some near the end. But he’s still an attractive guy because of his motor and his quickness… we’re always looking for activity problem-makers for the offense, and they come in different sizes and shapes.”

What makes him so intriguing?

Mike Salk thinks that Martin doesn’t have to do it all for the Seahawks’ defense — as long as other defensive ends are healthy, that is.

“I’ve heard all you guys mention his weight,” Salk sad. “I think it leads to a bigger question which is can he do more than just get after the quarterback? The sacks he had last year were good but he only had four other tackles over the course of the year. Let’s say he can get to the passer; can he do more than that? Does he need to do more than that?

“He seems to be everybody’s pet player for a breakout. And I’ll probably throw my name onto that list as well. I think he is poised and ready to have a breakout season and get to the quarterback. (But) I don’t know that he needs to do too much more right away. Now, some of that depends on health; not just his, but Ziggy Ansah. If Ansah is out there and playing from game one, then you can just rotate Martin through, then I think you’ve got an opportunity.”