NFL Draft
2/19/25
6 min read
Damien Martinez 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Miami Hurricanes RB
Height: 5111 (verified)
Weight: 226lbs (verified)
Year: Junior
Pro Comparison: Tyler Allgeier
Scouting Overview
Miami Hurricanes RB Damien Martinez projects as a powerhouse running back that can serve as a valuable piece of a running back puzzle at the NFL level. Martinez is an angry runner with excellent contact balance, a fearless demeanor tucking runs into piles as a short-yardage runner, and enough diversity in his running style not to be an obvious play design tell for opposing defenses.
He’s not overly refined as a passing-down player at this stage of his career, but Martinez should be considered a scheme-diverse talent who can win between the tackles and offers room to grow as a pass protector.
2025 NFL Combine Results
| Position | Name | School | 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Split | Broad Jump | Vertical Jump | 3-Cone Drill | 20-Yard Shuttle | Bench Press |
| RB | Damien Martinez | Miami | 4.51 | 1.56 | 124 | 35 |
Positives
- Possesses excellent contact balance and ability to play through contact to earn muddy yards
- Assertive running style translates and has experience in both gap and zone primary rushing concepts
- Offers surprisingly light feet to cut suddenly and change directions
Negatives
- Modest receiving profile with swings and checkdowns as primary pass game usage
- Irregular pass protection effectiveness; offers a lot of consistent thumps but when processing late, will eat and whiff on too many collisions
- Does not have ideal long speed to break pursuit angles downfield
Background
Martinez is from Lewisville, TX, and played high school football at Lewisville HS. There, he was a 3-star recruit (247 Sports) at running back. Martinez also ran track in high school (11.37s 100m). As a recruit, he received interest from several programs, including Kansas and Georgia Tech.
He ultimately settled on Oregon State and enrolled in the Beavers program, quickly finding an impact as a member of their 2021 recruiting class. As a true freshman, was named the PAC-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year after posting 982 rushing yards and averaging more than six yards per carry. His sophomore season saw him average more than six yards per carry again, and Martinez was, for the second straight season, named First Team All-PAC 12.
Martinez was arrested in November of 2023 on suspicion of driving under the influence and missed the team’s bowl game as a result. After his sophomore season, Martinez entered the transfer portal as a 4-star transfer (247 Sports) and enrolled at the University of Miami. He assumed a starting running back role with the Hurricanes and posted more than 1,000 rushing yards on just 145 carries.
Martinez declared for the 2025 NFL Draft after his junior season, foregoing his final year of eligibility. He accepted an invitation to the 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl.
Tale Of The Tape
Martinez indirectly did himself a favor by transferring from Oregon State to Miami. The change in scenery allowed Martinez to showcase his talent in a completely different rushing philosophy and promoted Martinez’s skillset as a scheme-diverse talent for the NFL.
The ancillary portions of the position are where Martinez can make the most headway upon his leap to the NFL, but as he is constructed, this is a back who can play a primary role in either a gap or inside zone scheme.
As a runner, Martinez showcases good vision between the tackles and possesses good anticipation of defensive leverage and second-level pursuit. This allows him to press with either patience or urgency coming out of the mesh point and maximize his run opportunities as the chess pieces on the board declare themselves into gaps in the fit. Martinez showcases the required ability to pop out of a gap with a hard cut when backers plug and break opposite their pursuit.
He is capable of dropping his pad level through contact and runs with the desired leg drive to churn through contact. This gives him a slippery element to contact along the line of scrimmage, and he can pop out the other side of the front unexpectedly with his balance and momentum intact. Martinez can offer a slashing running style when he’s forced to ride the wave toward the perimeter to go with his patient jabbing style when probing inside gaps.
In the open field, Martinez offers only modest long speed, which can be a limiting factor in how well he converts open-air opportunities into maximum gains. He’s hit home runs at the college level, but NFL speed feels likely to swarm, turning those home runs into doubles.
This isn’t a deal breaker, but it is worth noting if he indeed ends up as a part of a stable of backs to ensure there are complementary skill sets present. He’s a tough, physical runner who can push piles and does offer good ball security, too — just two fumbles lost in more than 500 carries at the college level.
As a receiver, Martinez is a sufficient checkdown target who has yet to be developed and groomed into anything of substance as a pass catcher. He’s aligned wide and caught a handful of hitches on the perimeter as zone coverage drops to protect deep, but otherwise, he has caught swing passes and checkdown routes that sit overtop of the football.
Martinez has also seen a handful of drops on targets that aren’t immediately on his frame. His body control to adjust and bail his quarterback out if throwing on the move and letting a throw drift and pull him upfield isn’t well-developed.
In pass protection, Martinez offers bright flashes of stout framing, active feet, and punch power. But there’s complacency at times, and he got run through on too many occasions in protection for what should have been routine fits.
I consider him capable of being a good pass protector, but he's inconsistent in his framing and identification of pressure opportunities. When he’s late and not set up on his frame, he can catch the full brunt of a defender and get washed or flatbacked. These reps are particularly frustrating because when he’s right and vigilant to strike a blow, he is quite effective in controlling the block and setting the depth of the pocket.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Martinez projects as a scheme-diverse talent and possesses the running profile to translate to either gap or inside zone heavy rushing schemes. He ideally lands as part of a rotation and stable of backs to help offset some of his development areas in the passing game.
Grade: 73.50/100.00, Fourth Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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