LJ Martin

[Twopointtry]

Boring is Good

I really like BYU running back LJ Martin. I'd be interested in possibly adding him to the Rams next year. I also think that he's overrated by draft experts and that it is uncertain whether he'll even get drafted. If those two statements sound contradictory, let me try to explain.

Martin had a ton of yardage in 2025. He was named the Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Year. On draft boards, Martin is ranked in the same part of the draft where RBs such as Blake Corum, David Johnson, De'Von Achane, James Conner, Cam Skattebo, Devonta Freeman and Brian Robinson were drafted. I don't see it. He's not on the same tier as those guys. Even if we compared him to Roschon Johnson of the Chicago Bears, taken in the middle of the 2023 draft, I feel that RoJo was a better prospect than Martin, even though Martin has much better statistical production.

I see Martin as a low ceiling prospect, not a potential NFL starter. I'm still interested in him, because I think he could be a solid backup. His job wouldn't be to beat out Blake Corurm, it would be to continue to add quality depth to the RB room.

Even more, Martin has a concerning injury history. I could see him getting put on the "do not draft" board based entirely on medicals. This is the key reason why it is possible he won't get drafted at all. Martin is going have a ton of carries by the time he's done at BYU and teams are going to be concerned that there is too much wear on the tires.

Martin is a consistent, reliable and very smart football player. He's a big RB with NFL size. I wouldn't draft him on Day 2, but if the price is right, he could be worth consideration. He's the type of player who could have a long career in the pros.

 

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Part 1: Background

Name, School: LJ Martin. BYU. He went directly to college from HS. True senior.

Size, estimated speed: Listed 6'2'' tall and 225 pounds. Was listed at 220 pounds in 2025, 225 in 224 and 205 pounds in 2023. In an interview, Martin said he intentionally got lean and is down to 220, so his listed weight for 2026 might not be accurate. Draftbuzz 4.46 seconds in 40. Brian Bosarge 4.52 to 4.60 seconds in 40.

3-star recruit from El Paso, TX. Had 2,737 rushing yards as JR and 2,138 rushing yards as SR, 473 carries combined over those 2 seasons.

Shoulder surgery in spring of 2024, limited in fall camp. High ankle sprain very early in 2024 season, lingered rest of season. Injured left shoulder in middle of 2025 season, played injured for 5 games then had surgery, missing the team's bowl game and remained out for spring 2026. The Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2025.

2023 (10 games, 5 starts): 109-518-4 (4.8 ave) 11-45-1 receiving
2024 (10 games, 8 starts): 137-718-7 (5.2 ave) 10-98-2 receiving, 3 fumbles
2025 (13 games): 236-1,305-12 (5.5 ave) 100.4 yards per game, 36-255 receiving, 1 fumble

Career fumble rate of one per every 135 touches, a good ball security rate.

Draftscout: Day 2, a potential best RB1 in NFL.
NFLMDD sim 88th overall, 4th RB
PFF big board, not ranked top 75
PFSN sim 52 overall, 4th RB: (+) Powerfully built, fleet footed, adaptable between the tackles, great short area quickness, navigates congestion, anticipates cutbacks. Thrives on gap and duo, flowing through narrow creases, urgent leg churn. An impact NFL starter. (-) Average as receiving threat, inconsistent pass blocking, not overly explosive.
Ian Cummings mock draft 3rd round, 74th overall. Not a burner, a workhorse RB, creativity, intelligence and physicality.
Shane Hallam mock draft 4th round, 125th overall
Drafttek 120
Draftbuzz: 4th round, 101, 7th RB. (+) Tall, square frame, reliable pass catcher with only 1 drop, one-cut zone runner, only 1 fumble in 2025. (-) Only checkdowns and screens as receiver, anchor and angles in pass protection, doesn't create missed tackles.
Brian Bosarge: (+) Prototypical size, rare lower body thickness, violent authoritative forward lean, contact balance, pushes piles, breaks arm tackles, excellent vision, lets blocks develop, precise cuts into daylight. (-) Medicals, exposed to leg tackles in space, breakaway speed.
Sam Teets 4th round tier, 102 overall

 

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Part 2: Strengths

He instantly turned heads as a true freshman at BYU, impressing his teammates and coaches, earning substantial playing time. I remember him from that season while studying a different BYU player. Martin wasn't a big-time recruit, so he outperformed the expectations. Nevertheless, his teammates described him as down to earth and humble at the time. In an interview early on his FR season, instead of talking about being the new star RB on the team, Martin talked about taking pride in his pass blocking, an oddly mature and professional response from such a young player.

Martin said in an interview that he loves BYU so much he'd like to return and help coach there after his playing career is over, but that he never could handle the pressure of calling plays, so he'd be satisfied with being a position coach or graduate assistant. Statements of this nature that he makes in interviews I feel open a window into his personality and how he doesn't have an inflated ego or unrealistic image of himself.

Entering his 2026 season, Martin still has the same grounded, intelligent personality he had back in 2023. He might have a future as a TV analyst, because he's natural in front of the camera. It is clear when discussing what he's been working on in the off-season that he has a strong self-awareness of his weaknesses and a professional approach to how he could improve his game. It sounds like he's working on the right things, and I'll be interested in seeing if it results in improved performance in 2026.

Before we talk about his running and other traits, I want to mention my favorite play from his tape. The call is a RB draw out of a shotgun formation. Pre-snap, the RB looks at the slot CB as if he's scanning for blitz pick-up, acting like he's about to pass block. It tricked me, I thought it was going to be a pass myself as I was watching the play develop. I thought this was a very intelligent and subtle detail that helped to disguise the draw. How many RBs do you know pay attention at such a minute level to their body language and eye movements prior to a running play? This play is one reason I like Martin so much as an NFL prospect.

Excellent awareness as pass blocker. It is 4th down. There are 6 defenders in the box. After the snap, 2 of the defenders drop back off of the LOS, so it is simulated pressure with only 4 rushers. The LB feints towards the RG, then loops around to the outside of the LG. The LG has poor awareness, doesn't see what is happening and allows the LB to get by unblocked. Martin sees it the entire way, and meets the LB, saving the QB from a sack. The QB has to drive the pass from the far hash all the way to the opposite sideline with velocity and accuracy to fit it into a zone void and completes it for 13 yards, gaining the 1st down instead of it being a sack and turnover on downs.

Play action, faking an outside zone run towards the left. The CB is blitzing from the right side of the formation. Martin with great awareness sees the CB coming and reverses direction, picking off the CB.

3rd down, muddled front by the defense. Play action run to the left, Martin knows there is an unblocked DE to the right and peels back to get in the way and prevent the QB from getting hit.

Very good hustle, effort and technique as lead blocker. Shallow crosser to WR. Martin bursts forward to get ahead of the WR, blocks the LB, then uses balanced and fluid grapevine lateral footwork to sustain his block flowing wide as the WR continues to run across the field, very good execution of a high degree of difficulty block. Good effort leading the way on designed QB runs. Outstanding effort as lead blocker on WR jet sweep. Attentive to his blocking angle. Strong blocking stance in pass protection.

Has NFL size, tall and strong. Good arm length, useful for catching passes and stiff-arming defenders.

For defensive players, they keep track of total tackles and solo tackles. I wish they kept a stat for how many times Martin was solo tackled, because that number might be close to zero. He doesn't go down easy. You have to bring extra help with you. Good leg drive through contact. Withstands body blows like a heavyweight boxer. Subtle wiggles to set up defenders in the hole. Good stiff arm.

Extremely patient. Good jump cut feel against early penetration. Uses his blocks well. Excellent body control and balance. Takes efficient path to the hole with no wasted movement.

Almost always has 2 hands on the ball in traffic. Conscientious with his ball security, as if he had just fumbled earlier in the game and the coach told him that he'd be benched if he fumbled again. Switches ball quickly to the appropriate hand in the middle of the run. On the play where he had his only fumble in 2025, he was carrying the ball in the arm that had the injured shoulder, so I wonder if his injury was a contributing factor.

Relatively soft hands catching. Very good effective catch radius. Made nice one-handed catch in the flat.

Very consistent and reliable. The same guy all the time. There was no up and down variability in his performance game to game. Natural and instinctive player. Like the game comes easy to him. Does he even need to be coached? It feels like the movie Matrix where the information just got downloaded directly into his brain and he suddenly knows how to play football perfectly without needing to practice. Why doesn't he make more mistakes like a normal college RB? Uncommonly NFL ready and polished. Unless it is an injury situation, I have a hard time seeing him getting cut and not making an NFL roster. I think his OC and RB position coach will love him.

 

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Part 3: Weaknesses

His running ability is relatively uninspiring. BYU has a very good OL, a key driving force behind why he gained so many yards. Martin would have had over 1,500 yards if he hadn't gotten injured but he also had some cheap yardage against bad defenses. Leaves meat on the bone as a runner and rarely is a "plus" runner who adds big yardage beyond what is statistically expected past the blocking.

Do you remember Ron Dayne? He won the Heisman Trophy in 1999. Dayne set an NCAA career rushing record while at Wisconsin. He was taken 11th overall in the 1st round by the NY Giants. Dayne's crazy production in college didn't translate to the NFL. I think a similar thing will happen with Martin. He doesn't have the speed, power or agility required to be a dynamic runner in the pros.

Has poor explosiveness, almost reject level for the NFL. Not elusive laterally with a very small jump cut range. Not twitchy. He's a plodder.

Poor long speed, no juice to take it to the house.

High cut, doesn't have a low COG. Doesn't have COD suddenness.

Despite having big size, he's not really a hammer, not a true power RB. He has limited forward downhill momentum, so there isn't elite force and power driving into the defenders at the LOS or at the 2nd level. Absorbs hits and keeps going but doesn't deliver hits. The NFL defenders who hit him are going to be considerably more powerful than the college opponents he's faced.

Has had 2 shoulder surgeries, plus lower body injury. High number of carries going back to HS days.

Team's scheme reduced the frequency he was in pass protection.

While he's smart and has size and sound technique blocking, he's held back by his limited athleticism. Chip blocks are mostly ineffective. On every one of the plays I highlighted above where he showed outstanding awareness on pass blocks, he only gets partial credit, because his physical execution of the block wasn't clean due to his average short-area agility, allowing the defender to partly squeeze by his outside shoulder. Has limited lateral range to slide his feet to sustain blocks or to adjust in space to moving defenders. Even though Martin is big, if he's late establishing his base because of slower lateral foot speed, his anchor ends up being weak and he can be pushed backwards, the same thing that happens to big OL if they lose their base. Lost to a push pull move.

Average athleticism also caps his receiving potential. Doesn't release quickly out of the backfield. Can't make sharp and explosive cuts running routes. Zero burst running routes. Can't do much with him beyond screen passes or as a safety outlet or a wheel route up the sideline.

Hands are good but inconsistent. Nearly dropped a TD pass, trapping it against his body. Dropped a high pass in the flat, though I wonder if his shoulder injury was a factor on that play.

Doesn't have diverse special teams potential. Might be good as the personal protector on punt unit or as a blocker on the kick return unit. He's too slow to return kickoffs.

Limited developmental potential. He's probably about as good as he's going to get. A "what you see is what you're going to get" prospect. His best statistical seasons in the pros might come at the very beginning of his NFL career.

 

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Part 4: Draft Grade and Pro Comp

Late round grade. Joshua Kelley (Early 4th round 2020, Chargers, UCLA).

Watch James Conner at Pitt side-by-side with LJ Martin and tell me which of the 2 RBs you like better. I don't think Martin is a "4th round" type of RB. That said, I still like this player. He's really smart, he has 3-down type ability since he's well-rounded by being able to block and catch the ball. I like his size, his intangibles and his ball security. I think he can help an NFL team. I question whether he'll ever be more than a RB3 type, maybe part of a running back by committee approach. His injury history creates some risk, part of why I gave him a low grade.

I think he fits better on a team with a very good run blocking OL and one that uses a power, downhill between the OTs style where his speed limitations won't matter as much. He's a good fit with the Rams. I wouldn't take him on Day 2 but if we're picking at the very end of the 5th round and he's still on the board I think he's worth at least discussing for that slot. If Martin can show more explosiveness in 2026, I'd give him a higher grade, because his lack of burst is probably the single biggest thing that scares me off.