On the Draft Board: Western Kentucky’s Brodric Martin

On Tuesday, it was reported that the Kansas City Chiefs would be using a top-30 visit to bring in a defensive tackle out of Western Kentucky’s Brodric Martin.

What is a top 30 visit?

A top-30 visit gives an NFL team a chance to bring a draft prospect into Kansas City for a wide variety of evaluations. Teams can use these visits to measure a player’s physical traits, test their football knowledge on the whiteboard, gauge their physical agility and simply just get a feel for their personality.

Teams are only allowed 30 of these visits, which is where the name comes from. These visits can be viewed in several ways — sometimes they can stem from a genuine interest in a prospect, or they might show false interest in a position or prospect for other teams come draft day. The Chiefs can use their top-30 visits for prospects that could go in the top 20 of the draft to players who will go undrafted.

Here’s what to know about the draft prospect:

Background

Martin is coming out of Western Kentucky as a fifth-year senior. Standing at a whopping 6’5” and weighing in at 335 lbs. with 34-inch arms, he profiles as a run stuffer on the interior of the defensive line. He started 14 games for the Hilltoppers in his final season. He finished the season with 31 tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. He was named Conference USA honorable mention and earned an invite to the 2023 East-West Shrine Bowl.

Martin has excellent upper body strength and has shown great instincts in the trenches. He uses his hands well when fighting off blockers and is explosive off of the ball. He’s yet to truly develop anything outside of a bull rush as a pass rusher and still fights his pad height from play to play. Given the level of competition and his time spent in school, he’s likely a day-three selection or a potential undrafted free agent.

How he fits with the Chiefs

With Chris Jones entering the final year of his contract, Tershawn Wharton listed as a restricted free agent and Derek Nnadi and Khalen Saunders as unrestricted free agents, the Chiefs have a major need at defensive tackle. The Chiefs historically have been able to find diamonds in the rough with players like Wharton and Saunders from smaller schools who can come in and fill a specific role.

Martin would be a predominant run defender. Then the Chiefs could flex Wharton (if retained) or Mike Danna to the interior for more pass-rush upside.

When a team like the Chiefs is constantly drafting at the bottom of each round, it needs to find role players such as Martin. He could come in and fill a very specific role for the Chiefs for a very minor investment.

The bottom line

The Chiefs have six picks in the sixth and seventh round of the NFL Draft. Surprisingly, some players drafted in these rounds actually end up making less than players who go undrafted and sign as free agents. If the Chiefs really like Brodric Martin, they could use one of those six picks and have cost control of him for four years.

As a prospect, Martin has the build of a unique talent at the defensive tackle position. There’s still lots to develop with him as a player, but his floor remains very high in terms of rotational depth and run support.