Martez Ivey Has A Lot Of Potential; Can Bill Callahan Help Him Reach It Finally?

Martez Ivey, OT/OG
School: Florida | Conference: SEC
College Experience: Senior | Age: 23
Height / Weight: 6-3 / 310 lbs
Projected Draft Status: 6th Round
NFL Comparison: Desmond Harrison

College Statistics

N/A

Player Overview

Martez Ivey was a highly recruited 5-star prospect from Apopka, Florida. He was the #1 ranked offensive line prospect in the nation back in 2015. Ivey was known as a mauler coming out of high school and has experience starting in 44 games and playing in all contests during his time at Florida at both left tackle and left guard. For a guy that was known for his physicality coming out of high school Ivey has not exactly harnessed that skill or used it consistently. He is still developing his technique, his body, and his strength. Ivey has never quite lived up to his recruiting status though he has shown flashes. Some teams still ought to be intrigued by his his potential and may think that they can develop him much quicker than the staff at Florida. Ivey has some intriguing versatility as well. He has the height and length for a tackle and could continue his pro career there but some think he can perform better and more consistently at guard which he has experience at as well. Athletic and strength testing will be huge for Ivey and all eyes will be on how he performs during positional drills as well.

Strengths

• Good size and length for the position with decent athleticism.
• Plays with decent kick slide and arm extension to help keep opponents at bay. Size and length make it harder for guys to go through or around him. Has 35 inch arms and also experience playing both positions on the left side of the OL.
• Is much better as a run blocker than a pass protector. His functional strength is better in this application where he can use his size to plow through and create space for running backs. Looks ok on runs where he has to pull and block in space.
• Seems to have good awareness is not easily fooled by stunts/delayed blitzes generally makes good choices when passing opponents off while heading to the next assignment.

Weaknesses

• Technique is just a mess, footwork and leverage are pretty bad and I’m slightly shocked he has been effective as he has at this level. No punch to speak up in pass protection and he may be an outright liability at the next level. Hand placement is hit or miss. Pad level and balance can easily compromise him bends at the waist - a mess.
• Plays with hesitancy he is a step slow with almost everything and defenses can take advantage of that and blow him up along with the play.
• Functional strength needs to improve. Consistency.

Let’s see his work (#73 LT):

More Martez Ivey videos

How He Would Fit On The Redskins

By now you may be wondering “Why?”. It looks like Ivey got to Gainesville and stayed pretty much the same player he was in high school. While it is certainly a reflection upon him to me it is more damning to the competency of the coaching staff for a 5-star guy not to be developed technically. With no reports of Ivey lacking effort or work ethic there is something else afoot. I think there is a strong argument that can be made about how much Ivey can improve with professional help at the highest level. He needs to get stronger but almost all of his issues result in not having the technical proficiency to consistently succeed. Luckily you can study and practice that and get better. While some may not have the confidence I have in the Redskins offensive line coach I don’t hold anything against Bill Callahan for not making Tyler Catalina an All-Pro. Callahan is known for getting offensive lineman technically ready. Other qualities like strength, football IQ, nastiness are largely up to the player to develop. For that reason I think a late round investment in a player like Ivey for positional depth isn’t a terrible idea. If everything goes well he may start living up to his potential and very well may become a serviceable player in a couple of seasons. While I think it would be nice to continue to cross train Ivey at tackle and at guard I think his best fit on this team is inside especially if he improves his strength where he can use his size and improve leverage to open up holes in the run game.