Quan Martin

Jartavius Quan Martin (born April 17, 2000) is an American professional football safety for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini and was selected by the Commanders in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft.

Early life

Martin was born on April 17, 2000, in Lehigh Acres, Florida. He attended Lehigh Senior High School, where he recorded 38 tackles and two interceptions for their football team. Martin was rated a three-star recruit and committed to play college football for the Fighting Illini at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

College career

Martin moved to cornerback as a freshman and became a starter early on. Martin was moved back to safety in 2021. He finished the season with 55 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one interception, seven passes broken up, and one forced fumble. Martin used the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and returned for a fifth season in 2022.

Professional career

2023

The Washington Commanders selected Martin in the second round (47th overall) of the 2023 NFL draft. He was the second safety selected after second-round pick (45th overall) Brian Branch. He notably became the first of five defensive backs drafted from the same Illinois' secondary spanning from 2018–2020. His fellow defensive backs from Illinois included Nate Hobbs (2021), Kerby Joseph (2022), Devon Witherspoon (2022), and Sydney Brown (2023).

On July 22, 2023, the Washington Commanders signed Martin to a four–year, $7.63 million rookie contract that includes $5.11 million guaranteed upon signing and an initial signing bonus of $2.55 million.

He entered training camp projected to compete for a role as a starting nickelback against Danny Johnson and was a possible candidate to be a starting safety along with Kamren Curl and Darrick Forrest. Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio had Martin learn to play safety, cornerback, and nickelback during training camp. Martin looked impressive throughout training camp, but struggled throughout the preseason. Head coach Ron Rivera named him a backup and listed him as the fifth safety on the depth chart to begin the season, behind Kamren Curl, Darrick Forrest, Jeremy Reaves, and Percy Butler.

On September 10, 2023, Martin made his professional regular season debut in the Washington Commanders' home-opener against the Arizona Cardinals, but was limited to 18 snaps on special teams before leaving for a concussion evaluation as the Commanders won 20–16. He was confirmed to have suffered a concussion and subsequently remained inactive for the Commanders' 35–33 victory at the Denver Broncos in Week 2. He was relegated to special teams for the first four games of the season. Martin began earning significant snaps on defense in Week 6 after Darrick Forrest was placed on injured reserve due to a shoulder injury. On Week 9, Martin recorded one pass deflection and sealed the Commanders' 20–17 victory at the New England Patriots after making his first career interception on a pass by Mac Jones to wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster with 38 seconds remaining. In Week 12, he earned his first career start as a nickelback and recorded two combined tackles (one solo) during a 10–45 loss at the Dallas Cowboys. Following the game, head coach Ron Rivera fired defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and took over as his replacement for the remainder of the season. On December 17, 2023, Martin set a season-high with ten combined tackles (seven solo) and had his first career sack on Matthew Stafford during a 20–28 loss at the Los Angeles Rams. In Week 18, he made four combined tackles (three solo), one pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by Dak Prescott to wide receiver Michael Gallup during a 10–38 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. He finished his rookie season with a total of 46 combined tackles (28 solo), four pass deflections, two interceptions interception, and one sack in 16 games and five starts. He had all five starts as a nickelback and started the last four games. Head coach Ron Rivera was fired following the completion of the 2024 NFL season after the Commanders finished with a 4–13 record. He received an overall grade of 65.4 from Pro Football Focus as a rookie in 2023.

2024

On February 3, 2024, the Washington Commanders hired the Dallas Cowboys' defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as their new head coach. He entered training camp as a possible candidate to earn a starting role at safety, along with Jeremy Chinn and Darrick Forrest, following the departure of Kamren Curl. Head coach Dan Quinn selected him to be the starting free safety to begin with season and paired him with starting strong safety Jeremy Chinn.

On October 27, 2024, Martin set a season-high with 11 combined tackles (nine solo) as the Commanders defeated the Chicago Bears 18–15. On December 29, 2024, Martin made eight combined tackles (seven solo), set a season-high with two pass deflections, and had his lone interception of the season on a pass thrown by Michael Penix Jr. to wide receiver during a 30–24 overtime victory against the Washington Commanders. He was inactive for the Commanders' 23–19 victory at the Dallas Cowboys in Week 18 due to an unspecified illness. He finished the season with 87 combined tackles (50 solo), three pass deflections, and only one interception in 16 games and 16 starts. He received an overall grade of 59.2 from Pro Football Focus, which ranked 115th amongst 171 qualifying safeties in 2024.

The Washington Commanders finished the 2024 NFL season second in the NFC East with a 12–5 record to clinch a Wild-Card berth. On January 12, 2025, Martin started in his first career playoff game and recorded four combined tackles (two solo) during a 23–20 victory at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Wild-Card Game. On January 18, 2025, Martin made three combined tackles (two solo), one pass deflection, and had his first career pick-six after intercepting a pass by Jared Goff to wide receiver Tim Patrick and returning it 40–yards to score the first touchdown of his career during a 45–31 victory at the Detroit Lions in the Divisional Round. On January 26, 2025, Martin started in the NFC Championship Game at the Philadelphia Eagles and recorded five combined tackles (three solo) as the Eagles routed the Commanders 23–55 and would go on to win Super Bowl LIX.

Personal life

Martin goes by his middle name Quan. He works as an unofficial team barber for the teams he plays for; he learned the profession by watching videos on YouTube during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns.

References

External links

Washington Commanders profileIllinois Fighting Illini profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Quan
2000 births
21st-century African-American sportsmen
21st-century American sportsmen
American football cornerbacks
American football safeties
Illinois Fighting Illini football players
Lehigh Senior High School alumni
Living people
Players of American football from Lee County, Florida
Washington Commanders players