A 2023 third-round pick of the Detroit Lions, defensive lineman Brodric Martin has had a disastrous start to his career.
Martin has played in five games over two seasons and hasn’t done much in his limited time on the field. A knee injury in the preseason forced the Western Kentucky product to sit out for most of the 2024 campaign.
Safe to say, Martin is up against it in 2025 and must have a strong training camp if he wants to land a roster spot. But Erik Schlitt and Jeremy Reisman of Pride of Detroit don’t see that happening.
In their 53-man roster projection going into training camp, Martin gets cut in favor of a five-man group that includes DJ Reader, Tyleik Williams, Roy Lopez, Mekhi Wingo and Pat O’Connor.
“The unfortunate news of Onwuzurike’s injury that will cause him to miss at least four games has opened up a spot for someone we originally had on the bubble to make the team,” Reisman wrote of the projection.
“Pat O’Connor was the relatively easy choice, considering how highly the team spoke of him last year, and his versatility to play anywhere from nose tackle to the edge. Don’t sleep on Chris Smith, though. He played significant snaps down the stretch last year, and would bring a lot more youth to the position.”
Of course, it’s important to note that both Levi Onwuzurike and Alim McNeill will be on the 53-man roster at some point, but both are currently working their way back from injury..
Onwuzurike is currently on the reserve/PUP list and will miss the first four games. As for McNeill, he’s on the active/PUP list, so he might avoid the same fate, but clearly Reisman and Schlitt believe he’ll miss the first four games, also, which is certainly possible given his torn ACL was suffered in December.
This is a sign of just how far Martin has fallen. Even with two key defensive lineman not in the mix in this prediction, Martin still isn’t able to secure a roster spot.
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