Quan Martin flashes potential against 49ers
Breaking down the performance of rookie DB Quan Martin against the 49ers.
Yesterday I broke down the performance of one Commanders rookie defensive back in Emmanuel Forbes. Today I figured we could check in on another in Quan Martin. Martin, like Forbes, has had a disappointing rookie season. Unlike Forbes, the signs were there early on that he was struggling to earn playing time and the staff was looking to use other options at both safety and slot corner. Martin’s playing time has only increased these past few weeks after injuries have struck the Commanders secondary and the team has had no other option.
However the opportunity has come, Martin has taken his chance and flashed the potential that saw the Commanders draft him in the second-round back in April. Against the 49ers, Martin was used more as the free safety than the slot corner and he showed a good feel for the position.
On this play, the 49ers are looking to hit one of Kyle Shanahan’s staple play-action concepts, known as Drift. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel aligns isolated to the right of the formation and looks to run vertical for about 10 yards before then drifting over the middle into space. His job is to find the space behind the linebackers biting up on the play-action fake. As Samuel looks to break inside, quarterback Brock Purdy gets to the top of his drop and looks to find his star receiver. However, Quan Martin is playing free safety and gets a good read on Purdy’s eyes. He follows them to his intended target and drives down on the drift route from Samuel.
By driving down on the route, Martin takes it away from Purdy and forces him to reset his feet and work to the other side of the field. Khaleke Hudson has some solid coverage on the wheel route Purdy ends up throwing, but Tariq Castro-Fields gets called for a penalty on a different route.
That drift route should be very familiar to Washington fans. Kyle Shanahan ran it multiple times a game when Robert Griffin III was the quarterback back in 2012. He had so many different ways to get to it and teams really struggled to stop it. So it’s a credit to Martin that he recognized the threat and was able to take it away. Later in the game, the 49ers came back to it from a different look and Martin was there to stop it again.
This time, the 49ers align in a condensed two by two formation, but have a receiver motion from left to right to leave tight end George Kittle as the only receiver to the left of the formation. Kittle then runs that drift route behind the linebackers that bite up on the play-action fake. Martin again follows Purdy’s eyes to the target and shows terrific closing speed to land a big hit on Kittle as the ball arrives. This hit forces Kittle to lose control of the ball and breaks up the pass. Emmanuel Forbes was the one officially credited with the break up, but from all the replay angles I could find, I believe it was Martin’s hit that caused the ball to come loose, not Forbes.
Being able to read the quarterback, follow his eyes to the target and then close quickly on that target to either take the throw away or land a big hit to break up the pass are very promising traits for a young defensive back like Martin. I think his long term future is as a hybrid safety/nickel corner because he has that level of versatility to his game, but plays like these show he can be trusted at free safety to make plays when he’s back there.
However, he does need to make sure he doesn’t get too carried away following the quarterback’s eyes. As the single deep safety, his job is to sit in the deep middle of the field, stay on top of the deepest route and protect against anything down the field. In this game, he had a rep where he forgot his responsibility for a moment as he followed the quarterback’s eyes to a target.
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