Rookie minicamp is the first chance for the team’s draftees to get a taste of being a Detroit Lions player. It’s a new feeling that Brodric Martin doesn’t take for granted.
The third-round nose tackle from Western Kentucky was something of a surprising selection that high in the 2023 NFL draft. Martin himself admitted as much on Saturday, relating the story of being caught off-guard when head coach Dan Campbell called him to let him know he was going to be drafted.
The big man flashed an easy smile and jovial nature in his first meeting with the Detroit media, coming immediately after Saturday’s session of rookie minicamp in Allen Park.
Martin was asked how the reality of being in a Detroit Lions uniform compared to the dream of being an NFL player.
“Way better than what I thought,” Martin said earnestly. “It’s like I’m blessed now. This is surreal — I still don’t believe it. Like, I walked up (into the Lions training facility) and seen the locker with my name on it and just, I ain’t going to lie, I about shed a couple of tears because this is like actually here. It’s happening.”
Martin concluded the thought with a nice quip,
“I come in here smiling and I ain’t frowned yet. I’m just smiling. It’s a blessing.”
Martin projects as an important part of the Lions’ defensive line rotation right away. He figures to rotate with veteran Isaiah Buggs as the nose tackle, as well as providing more bulk in short-yardage situations.
