One of the many moves that the Oakland Raiders made this offseason was bringing aboard Doug Martin. This has provided Martin with a fresh new start where he is looking to get his career back on track after a disappointing end to his tenure with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It has not taken long for him to make a strong impression on his new teammates by what he has shown in OTAs. According to Kyle Martin of Raiders, Derek Carr has been quite impressed by what the 29-year-old has shown on the practice field:
“I feel like with running backs, you’re going to see the most out of them when the pads come on and everything we’ve seen of Doug is awesome,” Carr said. “You see why he’s an All-Pro. You see why he’s a 1,500-yard back. His work ethic is unbelievable. He finished a run to the end zone today and didn’t stop until he got there and then he ran back to make sure he’s getting even more in shape. It’s little things like that that show young guys, ‘Hey man, that’s how you do it.’”
Martin has in front of him a chance to re-establish himself in the NFL as one of the most reliable and productive running backs. Although he will have to compete for playing time with Marshawn Lynch, it is a situation that has plenty of promise that he could quickly ingrain himself in a key role in the offense out of the backfield.
Through his first six seasons in the league, Martin has struggled to produce at a consistent level as he has failed to crack 500 rushing yards four times while the other two he posted more than 1,400 rushing yards where he earned both of his Pro Bowl selections. He is also coming off one of those disappointing years where he notched a career-low 406 rushing yards on a career-worst 2.9 yards per carry in 11 games played.
With a fresh start in his hometown of Oakland, it could be what he needs to get his career back on track for the 2018 NFL season.