Talented RB taking his talents to the NFL. The same Draft Destination as former Miami RBs DeeJay Dallas and Travis Homer.
Damien Martinez is taking his talents to the NFL!
With the 223rd pick of Round 7, the Seattle Seahawks selected the standout running back to join their team. Seattle is no stranger to selecting Canes running backs in the NFL Draft as they DeeJay Dallas 144th overall in 2020 and Travis Homer 204th overall in 2019.
They add another physical 6’0” 217lb back, Martinez, who brings a wealth of talent, and years of production, to the NFL.
Martinez started his career at Oregon State where he immediately stepped into the starting RB role for the Beavers. In 13 games as a freshman in 2022, Martinez ran 161 times for 982 yards (6.1ypc) with 7 TDs. His 75.5 yards per game average was good for 4th in the Pac-12. For his performance, Martinez was named Pac-12 Offensive Rookie of the Year for 2022, and earned 1st team All Pac-12 honors as well.
As a sophomore in 2023, Martinez took his game to an even higher level. In 12 games, Martinez ran 194 times for 1,185 yards (6.1ypc) and 9 TDs. For his performance, Martinez earned 1st team All Pac-12 honors for the second consecutive year.
With the dissolution of the Pac-12 conference, and in search of a bigger program to showcase his talents, Martinez elected to leave Oregon State and transfer to Miami for his junior season. Martinez made his transfer decision in the Spring Transfer portal window, after spring practice had already been completed for Miami, so it took him a bit of time to get up to speed and integrated into the offense.
However, once Martinez was up to game speed, he asserted himself as the #1 running back on the team. Martinez used his combination of size, quickness, vision, and speed to punish defenses over and over again. As a junior in 2024, Martinez ran 159 times for 1,002 yards and 10 TDs. Martinez set career highs for yards per carry (6.3), touchdowns (10), and catches (17) in his year at Miami.
Martinez, who was the first Miami RB to run for 1,000 yards since Mark Walton ran for 1,117 yards in 2016, earned honorable mention All-ACC honors. He routinely showed his ability to run through arm tackles, and was the center of the run game element for Miami’s offense, which ranked #1 in America in 2024.
After a stellar 3 year college career, Martinez showed his talents well at the Senior Bowl, NFL Draft Combine, and Miami’s pro day. With more than 3,000 yards rushing in 3 years, Martinez is a workhorse back who will continue his journey in the NFL. And I, for one, can’t wait to see what he’s able to do at the next level, as he has steadily climbed up draft experts’ boards in the pre-draft process in a heavy running back class.