Mike Martin, Tennessee Titan

Tag: Mike Martin


26Apr 2012
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2012 NFL Draft Preview: Michigan-style

Mike Martin will probably be the first Wolverine drafted, but not until Friday night

Last year saw only linebacker Jonas Mouton and offensive tackle Steve Schilling get drafted, both by the San Diego Chargers.  It’s no sure thing that Michigan will beat that number this year, especially now that tight end Kevin Koger suffered an Achilles injury.  Here’s a look at the Wolverines who are eligible for the draft:

Mike Martin, DT
Martin is the likely top choice out of Michigan.  He’s 6’1 3/8″, 306 lbs. and ran a 4.86 forty yard dash at the NFL Combine.  He also put up 36 repetitions on the 225 lb. bench press.  Martin is too undersized to play nose tackle in the NFL, but I think he can play as a defensive end in a 3-4 look or as a 3-tech defensive tackle in a 4-3 defense.  Martin is pretty quick and uses leverage very well, and best of all, he’s a hard worker with a good motor.  I don’t know if Martin will be a Pro Bowler, but he could have a ten-year career.
Projection: 3rd round to Chargers

David Molk, C
Molk is 6’0 7/8″, 298 lbs. and ran a 5.2 forty.  The general knock on Molk is that he’s not very big, which is true.  He is very quick, though, and excelled in the zone blocking system run by Rich Rodriguez from 2008-2010.  Molk looks like an NFL backup, but one of the problems with him will be that he doesn’t offer any position flexibility – he’s a center and that’s it.  Lots of teams like their backup centers to be able to be plugged in at guard, too.  I doubt anyone’s going to hand Molk a starting center job, but he could be brought in as the heir apparent to a veteran center or to work in for a zone running team.
Projection: 5th round to Texans

Junior Hemingway, WR
Hemingway is 6’0 7/8″, 225 lbs., and ran a 4.51 forty yard dash at the NFL Combine, which is much faster than I expected him to run.  Hemingway doesn’t play that fast, and his real strength seems to be the timing on his jump balls and his ability to outmuscle opposing receivers.  For a receiver with just average height, 225 lbs. is a lot.  Hemingway struggled with staying healthy early in his career, and his inability to get separation consistently limit him to being a possession receiver at the next level.
Projection: 6th round to Bears

Ryan Van Bergen, DE
Van Bergen is a 6’4 1/2″, 290 lb. defensive end with a 4.99 forty.  He’s a high character guy who has a little bit of surprising athleticism.  He lacks the pass rush abilities to make a star-level impact at the next level, but he could be an Aaron Smith-like defensive end for a 3-4 team or a left/strongside end for a 4-3 team.  I think he might be able to play for five or six years, but his ceiling is probably a journeyman type of career.
Projection: Undrafted

Kevin Koger, TE
Koger measured in at 6’3 3/4″ and 253 lbs. with a 4.8 forty.  He was borderline draftable before hurting his Achilles, so I sincerely doubt whether he’ll get picked.  Koger has decent size and speed, but he’s not a particularly good runner after the catch and his hands are a bit shaky.  He might be able to be a second or third tight end for someone, but I don’t think he’ll ever be a starter.
Projection: Undrafted

Other undrafted players: WR Kelvin Grady, OT Mark Huyge, WR Martavious Odoms, RB Michael Shaw, CB Troy Woolfolk

20Mar 2012
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Michigan Combine participation and Draft position since 1999

Marquise Walker
With the NFL Combine behind us and the Draft not too far away, now seems like a good time to take a look at the recent history of Wolverines in the NFL. Here’s a list of players who have participated in the combine since 1999, with draft position included in parentheses. It’s worth remembering that the vast majority of players who are invited to the Combine end up with NFL teams, even if they are not selected in the Draft.

2012 (3): DT Mike Martin (TBD), WR Junior Hemingway (TBD), David Molk (TBD)


2011 (2): LB Jonas Mouton (2nd), Stephen Schilling (6th)

2010 (5): OLB Brandon Graham (1st), P Zoltan Mesko (5th), S Stevie Brown (7th)*, CB Donovan Warren (undrafted), RB Brandon Minor (undrafted)

2009 (4): DT Terrance Taylor (4th), CB Morgan Trent (6th), LS Sean Griffin (undrafted), DE Tim Jamison (undrafted)

2008 (7): OT Jake Long (1st), QB Chad Henne (2nd), LB Shawn Crable (3rd), WR Mario Manningham (3rd), RB Mike Hart (6th), WR Adrian Arrington (7th), SS Jamar Adams (undrafted)

2007 (6): CB Leon Hall (1st), DT Alan Branch (2nd), LB LaMarr Woodley (2nd), LB David Harris (2nd ), WR Steve Breaston (5th), LB Prescott Burgess (6th)

2006 (5): DT Gabe Watson (4th), WR Jason Avant (4th), TE Tim Massaquai (7th), OL Adam Stenavich (undrafted), LB Pierre Woods (undrafted)

2005 (7): WR Braylon Edwards (1st), CB Marlin Jackson (1st), OG David Bass (2nd), CB Markus Curry (undrafted), FB Kevin Dudley (undrafted), P Adam Finley (undrafted), S Earnest Shazor (undrafted)
2004 (5): RB Chris Perry (1st), CB Jeremy LeSueur (3rd), QB John Navarre (7th), OT Tony Pape (7th), OL David Pearson (undrafted)

2003 (7): LB Victor Hobson (2nd), TE Bennie Joppru (2nd), FB B.J. Askew (3rd), QB Drew Henson (6th), SS Cato June (6th), FS Charles Drake (7th), WR Ronald Bellamy (undrafted)

2002 (4): WR Marquise Walker (3rd), LB Larry Foote (4th), OG Jonathan Goodwin (5th), K Hayden Epstein (7th)

2001 (6): OT Jeff Backus (1st), OL Steve Hutchinson (1st), WR David Terrell (1st), RB Anthony Thomas (2nd), OT Maurice Williams (2nd), CB James Whitley (undrafted)

2000 (7): LB Ian Gold (2nd), FB Aaron Shea (4th), DT Josh Williams (4th), LB Dhani Jones (6th), QB Tom Brady (6th), DE James Hall (undrafted), WR Marcus Knight (undrafted)

1999 (8): OT Jon Jansen (2nd), TE Jerame Tuman (5th), WR Tai Streets (6th), CB Andre Weathers (7th), RB Clarence Williams (undrafted), QB Scott Dreisbach (undrafted), SS Marcus Ray (undrafted), LB Sam Sword (undrafted)
*Not invited to the Combine
Average number of Michigan players participating in the Combine: 5.4
Average number of Michigan players selected in the Draft: 4.1

Average Draft position: 3.8th round
11Mar 2012
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Detroit News: Mel Kiper expects Michigan stars to be mid-, late-round selections

Mel Kiper thinks more of Mike Martin than does NFL.com, but he thinks a lot less of Junior Hemingway. Soon after I posted NFL.com’s projections for Martin, Hemingway and Molk, the Detroit News caught draft expert Mel Kiper’s thoughts on the trio, and his evaluations are quite different.
Martin: “I think he’s one of those guys you get in to that third-round mix. He’s going to be in a rotation a good guy to have on your defensive line.”

Molk: “There’s a lot of football intelligence there. A smart kid. To me, he’s a guy with the pads on, you think of Jeff Saturday. . .I think in the fifth round area he’s a heck of a choice.”
Hemingway: “If Hemingway is drafted, he will be a late-round selection.”
I don’t know about you, but I can hear Kiper’s voice as I’m reading those quotes. For more of his thoughts, click through.
7Mar 2012
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Rank Ordering the Big Ten NFL Draft Prospects

Following the combine, NFL.com assigned each participant a number grade (20-100), which corresponds to projections like so:
20 – 49: Free Agent (UDFA)
50 – 69: Draftable Player (4th-7th)
70 – 84: Eventual Starter (2nd-3rd)
85 – 95: Immediate Starter (1st)
96 – 100: Future Hall of Famer (top pick)
Here’s how the top two-thirds of Big Ten players who attended the combine stack up to one another. Coincidentally, Martin, Hemingway and Molk are listed consecutively at numbers 21, 22 and 23, respectively.
1. 89.7 – DT Jared Crick, Nebraska
2. 89.o – DT Devon Still, Penn State
3. 87.7 – LB Lavonte David, Nebraska
4. 86.0 -OT Riley Reiff, Iowa
5. 85.7 – CB Alfonzo Dennard, Nebraska
6. 85.0 – OL Peter Konz, Iowa
7. 83.0 – WR Nick Toon, Wisconsin
8. 82.7 – OL Marcel Jones, Nebraska
9. 79.5 – OL Kevin Zeitler, Wisconsin
10. 79.5 – DT Jerel Worthy, Michigan State
11. 76.5 – WR Devier Posey, Ohio State
12. 73.5 – WR B.J. Cunningham, Michigan State
13. 72.5 – DE Whitney Mercilus, Illinois
14. 69.7 – WR Keshawn Martin, Michigan State
15. 69.7 – RB Dan Herron, Ohio State
16. 68.5 – QB Russell Wilson, Wisconsin
17. 68.2 – FS Trent Robinson, Michigan State
18. 68.2 – DT Mike Daniels, Iowa
19. 64.5 – WR A.J. Jenkins, Illinois
20. 64.0 – DB Antonio Fenelus, Wisconsin
21. 59.7 – DT Mike Martin, Michigan
22. 59.5 – WR Junior Hemingway, Michigan
23. 59.2 – OL David Molk, Michigan
24. 58.0 – OL Michael Brewster, Ohio State
25. 57.5 – OL Jeff Allen, Illinois
26. 57.0 – CB D’ Anton Lynn, Penn State
27. 56.0 – QB Kirk Cousins, Michigan State
28. 54.5 – OL Johnnie Toutman, Penn State
29. 54.0 – OL Mike Adams, Ohio State
30. 53.7 – DL Jack Crawford, Penn State