Jacob Martin came over with fellow outside linebacker Barkevious Mingo as part of the Jadeveon Clowney trade at the end of the 2019 preseason.
While pundits focused on the 2020 fourth-round pick the Houston Texans received as part of the compensation, the defense gained a budding edge defender in Martin, who is expected to have a larger role in the defense in his second season.
“Jacob is a guy that can pose problems for offenses because he can do a lot of things,” first-year defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver told reporters Aug. 18. “He obviously can rush off the edge, rush on the interior. You saw him get a sack in the playoff game against Buffalo last year when he ran that game with [outside linebacker] Whitney (Mercilus). You can drop him into coverage. Finding him and IDing him is going to be an issue for offenses.”
Martin collected 3.5 sacks, three tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery through 14 games with Houston. In the playoffs, Martin recorded 1.0 sack, two tackles for loss, and a fumble recovery.
A former 2018 sixth-round pick from Temple, Martin is still developing as a complete player, and the Texans are on the receiving end of that growth.
“That multiplicity as a coordinator, you love guys like that because you can get creative and you can do some things,” Weaver said. “The more he can handle from a football FBI standpoint, the more we’re able to do with him, it just makes us that much more complex defensively. We’re thrilled to have him.”
With Duke Ejiofor being lost for the season with a torn ACL, the Texans will rely a little bit more on Martin to generate pressure from the edge and confuse opposing offenses. If the Texans can benefit from Martin’s development in year three as a pro, it could bolster their pass rush.
