New York Giants Draft Prospect Profile: SAF Jartavius “Quan” Martin

Nick takes a look at a versatile Illinois safety Jartavius Martin.

Jartavius “Quan” Martin, SAF

Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 194 lbs.
Class: Senior
School: Illinois
Age: 22 (04/17/2000)

Combine Measurements

Arm length: 31 ⅛”
Hand size: 9 ⅝”
40-yard-dash: 4.46
10-yard-split: 1.47
Vertical jump: 44”
Broad jump: 11’1”
Bench press: 15 reps

Jartavius “Quan” Martin was a three-star recruit out of Lehigh Senior High School in Lehigh Acres, Florida, where he was the 113th safety and the 242nd prospect in the 2018 recruiting cycle. Martin chose Illinois over Air Force, Central Michigan, and Iowa State.

Notables

Martin was moved from safety to cornerback for the 2018 season, where he played 493 snaps as a true freshman. During his sophomore season of 2019, he was moved back to safety and operated as a versatile defensive back for the Fightin’ Illini. He played five seasons at Illinois after exercising his extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19. Here are Martin’s stats, courtesy of sports-reference.com:

Martin was tied for sixth-most forced incompletion among Power-5 schools in 2022. He was invited to the 2023 Reese’s Senior Bowl and stood out at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. Martin finished as the number one safety in the 10-yard split, vertical and board jump at the combine.

Strengths

• Solid length (looks bigger than he measured) and is an excellent athlete
• Elite straight-line speed - long strider
• Smooth mover with elite closing burst and explosiveness
• Good change of direction and excellent fluidity
• Physical at the LOS with good steer & control off jam
• Explodes out of breaks with excellent click & close downhill
• Impressive range
• Has man coverage upside due to athletic ability - solid in man as of right now
• Solid man skills to carry vertical routes
• Tasked to execute difficult coverages (MOFC to outside CB blitz vs MICH ST. & Purdue)
• Excellent at playing routes in front of him in zone
• Solid spatial awareness as a zone defender
• Good ball skills - high points with strong hands (NEB, MINN & TNCH)
• Physical defender at the catch point
• Elite run defender with the desire to run through ball carriers
• Fundamental sound approaching the tackle point - stays square, exercises patience
• Packs a punch with elite play strength and power at the tackle point
• Wraps ball carries up - big hit stick potential
• Angles are not an issue from depth in run support
• Solid overall play strength
• Very versatile: can play single high, nickel, deep half, near the LOS, in the box

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Weaknesses

• Stumbled and lost his footing when more physical receivers slightly contacted him from a flat-footed stance in off-man
• Body presence needs to be refined in man coverage
• Marginal angle judgment vs. outs and against horizontal breaking routes in man coverage
• In the red zone, he gave way too much cushion between himself and the receiver running on the back boundary: Twice against MICH ST; once against Purdue
• Aggressive nature worked against him often
• Risky in coverage: attempts to undercut passes that led to huge offensive gains
• Bites hard on double moves (NEB Q2, 11:29, 2nd & 12; Q2 9:49, 3rd & 3; WIS Q1, 1:26, 3rd & 16
• Aggressive nature became a liability at times
• Would benefit from playing with more calculated restraint

Summary

There’s a lot to appreciate about Jartavius Martin’s skill set; for starters, he’s a phenomenal athlete who can play all over the back end of a defense. Illinois leveraged his versatility in their man-heavy approach. Want him to play the post? He can. 

What about a nickel slot defender? Well within his wheelhouse. His ability to wear many hats is invaluable. He could improve as a man covering defender, but the potential oozes out of his tape. 

Furthermore, he’s an elite run defender who packs a nasty punch for his size. His missed tackle rate in 2022 & 2021 were 6.1% and 4.8%, respectively.

Martin’s gambling nature is a bet that has burnt him; there were several plays throughout his tape where he attempted to undercut out routes out of the slot or deep horizontal routes from a single high look, and he failed to maintain body presence. 

Conversely, several times, he was able to get his hand on the football for a PBU. If he can play with more overall patience and restraint in coverage - and once the game slows down for him - he’ll be a valuable addition to any secondary.

GRADE: 6.25 

Nick Falato

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