30 Days of Colts Fits: RB Damien Martinez, Miami

The 2025 NFL Draft is officially a month away. In order to help you all along until draft day, I decided to start a daily prospect spotlight series to talk about some players that the Indianapolis Colts could target next month.

The players mentioned in this series will be players that I have either heard that the team is really high on or are players that just make way too much sense for the team based on fit/past draft history.

The next player up on this countdown to draft day is Miami running back Damien Martinez.

Background

Dec 28, 2024; Orlando, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes running back Damien Martinez (6) runs for a touchdown against the Iowa State Cyclones in the first quarter during the Pop Tarts bowl at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Martinez is a former three-star recruit who originally chose to attend Oregon State out of high school. He immediately made an impact for the Beavers, rushing for 982 yards and seven touchdowns as a true freshman in 2022. He earned national recognition for his dominant first season, as he was named the PAC-12 Freshman of the Year and earned Freshman All-American Team honors.

Martinez followed up that impressive first season with an even better sophomore campaign, rushing for 1,185 yards and nine touchdowns. He earned All-PAC-12 First Team honors as a result and was also a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award. He transferred to Miami as a four-star recruit following the season and picked up where he left off the previous season.

In his lone season with the Hurricanes, Martinez rushed for 1,002 yards and 10 touchdowns. He earned All-ACC honorable mention honors for his strong play as a junior. For his career, Martinez finished with just over 3,000 yards rushing and 6.2 yards per carry in three seasons at the college level.

Martinez participated in the 2025 Reese's Senior Bowl this offseason where his impressive blend of athleticism and size was on display for scouts in attendance to see.

what a run from Damien Martinez.

stays vertical on his path, runs through a tackle, switches the ball to the outside arm (!) and finishes with a TD. https://t.co/TlJfQby27v pic.twitter.com/5oSLezdoTD
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) March 12, 2025

Size/Testing

Feb 28, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Miami running back Damien Martinez (RB22) talks to the press during the 2025 NFL Combine at Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephanie Amador Blondet-Imagn Images | Stephanie Amador Blondet-Imagn Images

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 217 pounds

Arm Length: 30.5 inches

Testing Numbers: 40 Time: 4.51 seconds / 10-Yard Split: 1.58 / Vertical Jump: 35 inches / Broad Jump: 124 inches

"Dangerous. Pick your poison. ... It's gonna be crazy this year."

Damien Martinez caught up with @aadelsonESPN about what to expect from @CanesFootball's offense this season 👀 pic.twitter.com/j1IabtFCvZ
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) August 9, 2024

Standout Traits on Film

Dec 28, 2024; Orlando, FL, USA; Miami Hurricanes running back Damien Martinez (6) runs for a touchdown against the Iowa State Cyclones during the first half at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images | Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

Martinez is a fun running back to watch on film with his impressive blend of contact balance and athleticism. He has great eyes in the backfield, showcases good patience on zone runs, and knows when to get upfield and fight for extra yards.

His best trait is his ability to run through contact. He keeps his legs moving on first contact and makes defenders look silly when they dive in with arm tackles. He also has some eye-popping footwork and basketball-like euro step that he likes to mix in when he isn't bulldozing defenders at the second level. Power backs that can also flash some finesse in the open field are always a treat to watch.

Every Damien Martinez breakaway run (15+yards) from 2024 #NFLDraft2025 pic.twitter.com/oHXubXctmV
— Ray G (@RayGQue) February 22, 2025

Martinez is the exact type of running back that the Colts covet in particular. Shane Steichen's ideal run game is based around living in 11 personnel and using powerful running backs to run out of the gun into light boxes. Martinez brings the same traits that he loved in Trey Sermon and Zack Moss but with far more athletic upside.

Martinez alonside Jonathan Taylor in Indianapolis would be a nightmare duo for opposing defenses. A true thunder and lightning duo where both players can be the lightning or the thunder on a given play.

Damien Martinez is the ideal rotational running back for the Colts. Indy wants to live in 11 personnel with bigger backs running into lighter boxes.

Martinez is in a similar size mold as Trey Sermon/Zack Moss but offers more juice and upside pic.twitter.com/QmELA71nlw
— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) March 24, 2025

An apparent weak point in Martinez's game is his ability as a pass blocker but, personally, I was a fan of his work in pass protection. He could stand to be a bit more physical, but his eyes are fantastic and plays with great effort and technique as a blocker. There's some growth needed, but I believe he can be just as good as Sermon was last year for the Colts in pass protection from day one.

Maybe there is other film out there that shows the struggles, but I liked what I saw from Martinez in pass pro this past season.

Damien Martinez also impressed me in the three games I watched with his pass protection. Really good eyes and technique.

Maybe saw one rep across three games that he would want back, and even that one he got a solid piece of the defender pic.twitter.com/u7AiMIYWPk
— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) March 24, 2025

Colts' Interest

Martinez is exactly what the Colts are looking for in a rotational back behind Taylor. He is big, strong, and athletic, and he has the ability to thrive in the Colts' gun-run, zone system. He may not be the best pass catcher in this class, but his abilities as a runner and as a pass blocker are at a high level at this moment.

The Colts have done a ton of work on Martinez this offseason, including meeting with him at the Senior Bowl. He fits everything they are looking for, so I expect the team to be very interested in him in the round 3-5 range in this draft. If everything falls into place, Martinez could be a Colt this offseason.

OTHER ENTRIES

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The Indy Draft Guide is officially available for pre-order this draft season. 225+ write-ups on the 2025 NFL Draft class plus how each player fits the Colts (along with some Build-A-Ballard features).

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— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) February 18, 2025