New York Giants 2012 NFL Draft Profile: Boise State RB Doug Martin

By Jeff Shull

Sorry I’m a little late to the draw on this one, I had the wonderful civic responsibility known as jury duty this morning. Anyways, welcome to week two of the New York Giants 2012 NFL Draft profile series. Today we have the privilege of covering Boise State running back Doug Martin.

The Giants got rid of some cap space when they cut long time Giant and franchise touchdowns leader Brandon Jacobs, who refused to come down enough on his salary to justify his continued existence on the team.

The bruising back has since signed with the San Francisco 49ers, despite rumors he would still return to the Giants. He had some choice words for his offensive linemen in his first radio appearance on the West coast, meaning we could be in for a year of vomit inducing comments from Jacobs.

Despite how much I was happy to see him go—I’d grown tired of watching a 264 pound tailback get ankle tackled by 185 pound corners—his departure still creates a void behind Ahmad Bradshaw. That is unless you’re willing to trust D.J. Ware and Da’Rel Scott. 

Let’s just say I have my doubts. Scott has potential, but he is not the short yardage, tough back the Giants need.

Doug Martin is, however.

Martin enjoyed multiple years of success at Boise State and may have erased any questions of his ability to perform well against a higher level of competition with his Combine performance.

I’m not sure I would consider him a franchise back like Maurice Jones-Drew, but Martin reminds me of him with both his running style and body type.

Martin has a compact body and elite strength for his position. He runs well between the tackles and has great instincts and vision. He rarely goes down on the first hit and has the heart and determination to fight for yards on every single play. For a team that needs help in the short yardage game, Martin would be perfect. He could also help as a receiver and pass protector. Bradshaw was the Giants’ only reliable pass protector in the backfield last season.

He had 1,260 yards and 12 touchdowns as a Junior and 1,299 yards and 16 touchdowns as a Senior. He finished his career with 43 total rushing touchdowns in three years with significant carries. He also averaged more than 10 yards per reception with four touchdowns in his two seasons as the full time starter.

Behind Trent Richardson, there really is not an all-around back other than Martin. The Giants could be targeting him with their second pick in the draft, or there could be a trade brewing with Osi Umenyiora not being happy with a backup role. If he is traded on draft day a second round pick should be included, which could make it easier for the Giants to acquire Martin.

At this point who knows where Martin resides on all the draft boards, but from all the experts it seems to be in the late first to mid second round range.

Related Articles:

New York Giants 2012 NFL Draft Profile: Kelechi Osemele

New York Giants 2012 NFL Draft Profile: Mohamed Sanu

New York Giants 2012 NFL Draft Profile: Peter Konz

New York Giants 2012 NFL Draft Profile: Chandler Jones

New York Giants 2012 NFL Draft Profile: Jonathan Massaquoi

Questions or comments can be sent to [email protected]

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