Green Bay Packers: 3 recent Draft booms and busts

Blake Martinez

Martinez has been everything the Packers could have hoped for and more out of a fourth-round pick in 2016. In a defense that has been extremely shaky for the past couple of years, Martinez has been their clear leader. He played in, and started all 16 games in both of the past two seasons and has led the team in tackles in both of those seasons.

Leading the team in tackles from the inside linebacker spot is not really a huge surprise. The real impressive stat is how he has ranked league-wide in tackles. In 2017 he finished tied for first with Preston Brown and Joe Schobert. This 2018 season he was second to only Indianapolis Colts’ rookie sensation Darius Leonard. Martinez has simply kept this defense somewhat afloat in the midst of injuries, coverage issues, and countless injuries.

This season, he added another dimension to his game, the pass rush, basically out of necessity on this defense. In his first two years, he was asked to fill gaps in the run game and cover zones in the middle of the field and occasionally cover running backs. In 2018 he had career highs six quarterback hits and five sacks. With the Green Bay Packers’ inability to generate a rush from the edge, his interior pressure was very important in keeping opposing offenses from lighting up the scoreboard every game.

Blake Martinez has been a top-notch player for this team and it is imperative that they find someone to play next to him well in the other middle linebacker spot. Martinez is the reason that Devin Bush from Michigan is a reasonable pick at the 12 spot in the draft this year. He’s the reason that a trade up for Devin White, while very improbable, is not completely off the table. The Packers have found one playmaking inside linebacker. Pairing him with another impact guy would go a long way in strengthening this defense.