.jpg) Martin in 2023 | |||||||||||||
| No. 20 – Washington Commanders | |||||||||||||
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| Position | Safety | ||||||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (2000-04-17)April 17, 2000 (age 25) Lehigh Acres, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Lehigh Senior | ||||||||||||
| College | Illinois (2018–2022) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2023: 2nd round, 47th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 11, 2025 | |||||||||||||
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Jartavius Quan Martin (born April 17, 2000) is an American professionalfootballsafety for theWashington Commanders of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theIllinois Fighting Illini and was selected by the Commanders in the second round of the2023 NFL draft.
Martin was born on April 17, 2000, inLehigh Acres, Florida.[1] He attendedLehigh Senior High School, where he recorded 38 tackles and two interceptions for their football team.[2] Martin was rated a three-star recruit and committed to playcollege football for theFighting Illini at theUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.[3]
Martin moved tocornerback as a freshman and became a starter early on.[4][5] Martin was moved back to safety in 2021.[6] He finished the season with 55 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one interception, seven passes broken up, and one forced fumble.[7] Martin used the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes in 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic and returned for a fifth season in 2022.[8]
| Season | Games | Tackles | Solo | Ast | TFL | Sacks | Int | FF | FR | TD | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 9 | 44 | 25 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2019 | 8 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 8 | 38 | 25 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2021 | 12 | 56 | 33 | 23 | 3.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2022 | 13 | 64 | 51 | 13 | 3.5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| Career | 50 | 225 | 148 | 77 | 10.5 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 22 |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 194 lb (88 kg) | 31+1⁄8 in (0.79 m) | 9+5⁄8 in (0.24 m) | 4.46 s | 1.47 s | 2.51 s | 44.0 in (1.12 m) | 11 ft 1 in (3.38 m) | 15 reps | |||
| [9][10] | ||||||||||||
TheWashington Commanders selected Martin in the second round (47th overall) of the2023 NFL draft.[11] He was the second safety selected after second-round pick (45th overall)Brian Branch. He notably became the first of five defensive backs drafted from the same Illinois' secondary spanning from 2018 to 2020. His fellow defensive backs from Illinois includedNate Hobbs(2021),Kerby Joseph(2022),Devon Witherspoon (2022), andSydney Brown(2023).[12]
On July 22, 2023, the Commanders signed Martin to a four–year, $7.63 millionrookiecontract that includes $5.11 million guaranteed upon signing and an initialsigning bonus of $2.55 million.[13][14]
He entered training camp projected to compete for a role as a starting nickelback againstDanny Johnson and was a possible candidate to be a starting safety along withKamren Curl andDarrick Forrest.[15] Defensive coordinatorJack Del Rio had Martin learn to play safety, cornerback, and nickelback during training camp. Martin looked impressive throughout training camp, but struggled throughout the preseason.[16] Head coachRon Rivera named him a backup and listed him as the fifth safety on the depth chart to begin the season, behind Kamren Curl, Darrick Forrest,Jeremy Reaves, andPercy Butler.[17]
On September 10, 2023, Martin made his professional regular season debut in theWashington Commanders' home-opener against theArizona Cardinals, but was limited to 18 snaps on special teams before leaving for a concussion evaluation as the Commanders won 20–16. He was confirmed to have suffered aconcussion and subsequently remained inactive for the Commanders' 35–33 victory at theDenver Broncos in Week 2. He was relegated to special teams for the first four games of the season. Martin began earning significant snaps on defense in Week 6 after Darrick Forrest was placed on injured reserve due to a shoulder injury. On Week 9, Martin recorded one pass deflection and sealed the Commanders' 20–17 victory at theNew England Patriots after making his first career interception on a pass byMac Jones to wide receiverJuJu Smith-Schuster with 38 seconds remaining.[18][19] In Week 12, he earned his first career start as a nickelback and recorded two combined tackles (one solo) during a 10–45 loss at theDallas Cowboys. Following the game, head coach Ron Rivera fired defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and took over as his replacement for the remainder of the season. On December 17, 2023, Martin set a season-high with ten combined tackles (seven solo) and had his first career sack onMatthew Stafford during a 20–28 loss at theLos Angeles Rams.[20] In Week 18, he made four combined tackles (three solo), one pass deflection, and intercepted a pass byDak Prescott to wide receiverMichael Gallup during a 10–38 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.[21] He finished his rookie season with a total of 46 combined tackles (28 solo), four pass deflections, two interceptions, and one sack in 16 games and five starts. He had all five starts as a nickelback and started the last four games. Head coach Ron Rivera was fired following the completion of the2024 NFL season after the Commanders finished with a 4–13 record. He received an overall grade of 65.4 from Pro Football Focus as a rookie in 2023.[22]
On February 3, 2024, theWashington Commanders hired theDallas Cowboys' defensive coordinatorDan Quinn as their new head coach.[23] He entered training camp as a possible candidate to earn a starting role at safety, along withJeremy Chinn and Darrick Forrest, following the departure of Kamren Curl.[24] Head coach Dan Quinn selected him to be the starting free safety to begin with season and paired him with starting strong safety Jeremy Chinn.[25]
On October 27, 2024, Martin set a season-high with 11 combined tackles (nine solo) as the Commanders defeated theChicago Bears 18–15. On December 29, 2024, Martin made eight combined tackles (seven solo), set a season-high with two pass deflections, and had his lone interception of the season on a pass thrown byMichael Penix Jr. to wide receiver during a 30–24 overtime victory against theWashington Commanders. He was inactive for the Commanders' 23–19 victory at theDallas Cowboys in Week 18 due to an unspecified illness.[26] He finished the season with 87 combined tackles (50 solo), three pass deflections, and only one interception in 16 games and 16 starts.[27] He received an overall grade of 59.2 fromPro Football Focus, which ranked 115th amongst 171 qualifying safeties in 2024.[22]
The Washington Commanders finished the2024 NFL season second in theNFC East with a 12–5 record to clinch a Wild-Card berth. On January 12, 2025, Martin started in his first career playoff game and recorded four combined tackles (two solo) during a 23–20 victory at theTampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Wild-Card Game. On January 18, 2025, Martin made three combined tackles (two solo), one pass deflection, and had his first career pick-six after intercepting a pass byJared Goff to wide receiverTim Patrick and returning it 40–yards to score the first touchdown of his career during a 45–31 victory at theDetroit Lions in theDivisional Round.[28] On January 26, 2025, Martin started in theNFC Championship Game at thePhiladelphia Eagles and recorded five combined tackles (three solo).
Martin goes by hismiddle name Quan.[11] He works as an unofficial teambarber for the teams he plays for; he learned the profession by watching videos onYouTube during the 2020COVID-19 lockdowns.[29]
