Analysis (Andrew Mertig): The Packers acquired two fourth round compensatory picks for losing Tramon Williams and Davon House. They used the first of those selections on ILB Blake Martinez of Stanford. He will factor into the rotation at Inside Linebacker with Sam Barrington, Jake Ryan, and Joe Thomas.

Martinez is 6‘2” and 237 lbs. He ran a 4.71 second 40 yard dash. He was named First Team All Pac 12 selection in 2015.

Martinez is a powerful tackler with great instincts. He will maintain gap discipline and make quick, decisive moves to close running lanes. He has some ability in man coverage and will make contributions on Special Teams right away. He has below average speed for a NFL Linebacker and has struggled at times biting on play action fakes.

Blake will likely turn into one of the better kick coverage players right away and contribute on defense on first and second down.

Team Fit (Ross Uglem): Martinez is just what the doctor ordered for this draft class, a linebacker who can cover.  Martinez had Pro Football Focus’ highest coverage grade at inside linebacker, and should fit right into a defense that is desperately trying to move Clay Matthews back to the edge.

Ted Thompson continues to show his love for the Pac 12 conference, drafting his second one in this draft class and joining Rodgers, Matthews, Randall and other Packers stars from the country’s left-coast conference.  Expect Martinez to compete immediately with Sam Barrington and Jake Ryan for snaps in the Packers defense.

Player Comp (Mike Wendlandt): James Laurinaitis, New Orleans Saints. Much like the former Ohio State and St. Louis Rams standout, Martinez is a good sized linebacker with surprising range who makes tons of tackles. He out-tackled his nearest competitor at Stanford last season by over 80 tackles and always seemed to be around the ball. Throw in the fact that they are the same height and about 8 pounds apart and the comparisons are easy to see. After some fans clamored for the Pack to sign Laurinaitis, they got the better deal in the rookie Martinez.

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Ross Uglem is a writer at PackersTalk.com. You can follow Ross on twitter at RossUglem

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