A Pac-12 Freshman of the Year who delivered Miami's first 1,000-yard rushing season in years.
Damien Martinez is a bruising running back who broke out immediately at Oregon State before transferring to Miami for a final, record-setting college season. A seventh-round pick in 2025, he has since worked his way onto the Green Bay Packers as he looks to carve out a role in the backfield.
Path to the league
Martinez starred at Lewisville High School in Texas before enrolling at Oregon State, where he earned Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and first-team All-Pac-12 honors in 2022 after rushing for 982 yards and 7 touchdowns. He followed with 1,185 yards and 9 touchdowns in 2023, then transferred to Miami for 2024. The Seattle Seahawks selected him 223rd overall in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Career highlights
In his lone season at Miami, Martinez rushed for 1,002 yards and 9 touchdowns across 13 games, delivering the program's first 1,000-yard rushing season by a running back since 2016 and earning All-ACC honorable mention. Across three college seasons, he topped 3,100 rushing yards.
2025 season recap
Martinez was waived by Seattle during final roster cuts in August 2025, briefly returned to their practice squad, and was released again in September. The Green Bay Packers signed him to their practice squad in late December 2025, and he inked a reserve/future contract with the team on January 12, 2026.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Damien Martinez
- ESPN: Damien Martinez
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Running Back
- Group
- offense
- College
- Miami
- Hometown
- Lewisville, TX, USA
- Age
- 22
- Status
- active
