the draft picks the Seattle Seahawks made in the 2018 NFL Draft and grading those picks with the benefit of a year of hindsight. So far in this review we’ve taken a pass over the selections of Rashaad Penny Patrick Kerney Color Rush Jersey , the running back taken in the first round, Rasheem Green, the defensive end taken in the third round and Alex McGough, the quarterback chosen in the seventh round. So far fans have not been extremely kind when it comes to the grading, so the player whose selection we are grading today is a bit more of a soft toss, Jacob Martin. Martin was selected in the sixth round with the 186th pick in the draft. In the immediate aftermath of the draft, I looked at the athletic profiles of the players the Seahawks had taken, and the similarities between Martin and both Chris Clemons and Cliff Avril certainly exist, even if the profiles are not perfect. Through the course of the 2018 season, however Germain Ifedi Color Rush Jersey , Martin showed that the similarities were more than just athletic. Specifically, he contributed quite a bit on the field, as noted in the piece on Rasheem Green, Martin actually played a couple dozen more defensive snaps than Green in spite of having been selected three rounds later in the draft. However, defense was certainly not the only place where Martin contributed. In addition to the 225 snaps he logged on defense, Martin logged 279 special teams snaps, which was good for the second most special teams snaps on the entire team, behind only Barkevious Mingo, and 54 more than any other member of the 2018 rookie class. It’s no secret how valuable head coach Pete Carroll believes special teams are, and the fact that Martin had more special teams snaps than other players who have been in the system for longer Marshawn Lynch Color Rush Jersey , including Akeem King (134 special teams snaps), Delano Hill (204 special teams snaps) and Tre Madden (254 special teams snaps) is certainly telling. Getting back to Martin’s contributions on defense, however, since the NFL made sacks an official stat in 1982, there have been 592 defensive players selected in the sixth round of the draft. With the three sacks that he recorded in 2018 already under his belt, Martin now finds himself in a 17 way tie for 98th in that category among those 592 picks. So, in just a single season he’s already in the top twenty percent for sacks recorded by a sixth round pick, and with another year of development, coaching and pro level training, it’s hard to not be optimistic about his future with the Seahawks. In playing all seventeen games for Seattle this season Earl Thomas III Color Rush Jersey , on top of those three sacks Martin recorded nine tackles (seven solo and two assisted) and added 8 quarterback hits while also forcing two fumbles. And now is the time on Field Gulls when we grade. Speaking at his press conference following the Seattle Seahawks’ playoff clinching victory in Week 16, Doug Baldwin was asked about Richard Sherman’s offseason comments that the Seahawks had lost their way. Baldwin, who has battled through a laundry list of injuries in 2018—later in his press conference, he said personally this season “has been hell”—responded in a way that perfectly captures his demeanor. Baldwin’s entire nine minute press conference is well worth watching, but if you can’t, here’s Baldwin quoting “a great 21st century philosopher,” when asked about his performance against the Kansas City Chiefs:Despite suffering what looked to be another injury during Seattle’s win over the Chiefs, Baldwin closed out the game with seven catches for 126 yards and a touchdown, in a performance that Pete Carroll heaped praise upon after the game.