Raiders LB Martin Became a Star Out of Round 12

As the Las Vegas Raiders are headed to Indianapolis for the 2024 NFL Combine this week, we reflect on a Silver and Black superstar who came out of a then-round 12, Rod Martin.

© RVR Photos | 1986 Oct 19

The Las Vegas Raiders currently have nine selections in the seven rounds, including No. 13 overall, in the 2024 National Football League Draft, which in years gone by had as many as 20 rounds.

Perhaps the greatest late-round NFL draft pick in Raiders history came when they selected unheralded linebacker Rod Martin out of USC in the 12th and final round, No. 317 overall, of the 1977 draft.

The 6-foot-2, 218-pound Martin remains an underrated star in Silver and Black history, even though he played key roles as the Raiders won Super Bowls XV and XVIII.

Martin originally was considered too small to be a linebacker in the NFL and too slow to be a defensive back, but he bulked up to 225 pounds. After being released and re-signed by the Raiders as a rookie, he became one of the best linebackers in franchise history while playing for the Silver and Black from 1977 to 88.

© RVR Photos | 1986 Oct 19

"Rod Martin is one of the most underrated players in Raiders history,” said two-time Super Bowl-winning Coach Tom Flores. “He just kept working and working to make himself a great player.”

Added Hall of Fame linebacker Ted Hendricks, who played opposite Martin: “Rod tackles better than I do, and he's better in man-for-man coverage. But teams tend to pick on his side. The reason we were so successful was that he protected that side.”

Because the Raiders were loaded with linebackers, Martin was traded to the San Francisco 49ers in 1977, but he never played for them and was released two weeks later, so he resigned with the Raiders and became a star.

“I happen to look good in Silver and Black,” said Martin, who wound up playing 12 seasons for the Raiders.

In Super Bowl XV against the Philadelphia Eagles at the Louisiana Superdome, Martin intercepted quarterback Ron Jaworski’s first pass and returned it 17 yards to the Philadelphia 30. Seven plays later, Jim Plunkett threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Cliff Branch, and the Raiders had a 7-0 lead with 8:46 left in the first quarter. The Eagles never caught up.

Tackles were not an official statistic kept in those days, but Martin also helped the Raiders hold running back Wilbert Montgomery of the Eagles, who gained 1,000-plus yards in three different seasons, to 44 yards in 16 carries.

And Martin was not finished, intercepting two more passes by Jaworski to set a Super Bowl record of three in one game that still stands, the last in the final minutes to clinch a 27-10 victory for the Raiders, who became the first wild-card team to win the Super Bowl.

Martin might have been the most valuable player in the game, but reporters in the press box had already selected Plunkett as the MVP when he intercepted that final pass in the closing minutes.

“Rod Martin slams the door in the face of the man they call ‘Jaws,’ and the Raiders will win the Super Bowl for the second time,” legendary play-by-play man Bill King said on Raiders Radio.

Said Hendricks: “The Eagles somehow felt they could exploit Rod Martin. They decided to attack the right side of our defense, away from me. They tested Rod the whole game, and all they got out of it was three interceptions.”

Martin graciously said he was simply happy to have a Super Bowl ring, and he added: “I feel like I’ve got another one in me.”

Indeed, he did.

In Super Bowl XVIII, Martin and the Raiders routed the heavily favored Washington Redskins, 38-9, and he helped limit John Riggins to 64 yards rushing on 26 carries after he had been MVP of the game a year earlier with 166 yards rushing and a 43-yard touchdown in a 27-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins.

On one series in the second half, Riggins gained eight yards on first down, but the Raiders shut him down on the following three plays to regain possession, and on the next play, Marcus Allen ran 74 yards for a touchdown to break the game open.

Martin was in on the tackle on each of those three plays against Riggins and finished the game with five tackles, a sack of quarterback Joe Theismann, and a fumble recovery.

Again, while tackles were not an official statistic for most of that time, Martin made plenty of them in his career and had 14 interceptions for 225 yards and four touchdowns, in addition to recovering 10 fumbles and returning them for 122 yards and two more scores.

Martin, out of round 12, might be the most underrated player in the Raiders’ 64-year history.

The NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Mich., on April 25-27, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders currently hold the No. 13 overall pick.

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