Damien Martinez's journey from a standout freshman at Oregon State to a key contributor at Miami culminated in his selection by the Seattle Seahawks in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft. With his production and measurables, NFL analyst Field Yates determined the selection as a great value pick for the Seahawks.
Damien Martinez in the seventh round?!?!
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 26, 2025
I love that value for the Seahawks.
Standing at 6'0" and weighing 217 pounds, Martinez has dominated everywhere he has played in his collegiate career. In 2024 at Miami, Martinez rushed for just over 1,000 yards (third time in his career) and had 10 touchdowns. In his two seasons at Oregon State he totaled 2,167 yards and 16 touchdowns on 6.1 YPC. Those numbers were good enough to earn him First-Team All Pac-12 recognition twice as well as Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year.
The Miami offense leaned on No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward for most of the season but Martinez was able to show off his pass-catching abilities. Last year he logged 17 receptions for 204 yards. Some scouts were concerned about his ability through the air as he had modest production in that category through his first two years in college at Oregon State. Playing for the Beavers, Martinez had 15 total receptions for 187 yards.
While Martinez cleared up some concerns in that department last season, he still fell all the way to the 7th round of the Draft. The running back position was a headliner in Day 3 as plenty of backs went off the board in rounds 4-7. Notable picks in front of Martinez include Ollie Gordon II out of Oklahoma State, Cam Skattebo out of Arizona State and Dylan Sampson out of Tennessee.
Seattle has selected Miami running backs in the NFL Draft before with DeeJay Dallas at 144th overall in 2020 and Travis Homer at 204th overall back in 2019.