Tee Martin knows what he’s talking about when it comes to football.
He was Peyton Manning’s backup at Tennessee in 1996 and ’97 before leading the undefeated Volunteers to a national title in 1998 and a Fiesta Bowl appearance in 1999. Martin was a fifth-round pick of the Steelers in 2000, played professionally until 2005 and has coached since.
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He now serves as the Ravens’ wide receivers coach, so he knows when he sees a good wideout, too.
His son, Amari Rodgers, just so happens to be the only one drafted by the Packers this year. They traded up seven spots in the third round to select the former Clemson wideout, who thrives in the slot and can return punts and kicks, too.
“I understand the West Coast system and kind of schematically what the Green Bay Packers are,” Martin said in a phone conversation with The Athletic on Saturday. “I think he’s a really good fit, and I’m proud of him and really thankful to the organization that they believe in my son enough to draft him.
“I kind of had six or seven teams that I thought would be good fits and the Packers were one of them, and for the obvious reasons of having Aaron Rodgers there, one, but then two, I really saw what they did offensively last year with what they were doing and getting close to getting to the Super Bowl.”
Rodgers stands less than 5-foot-10 but weighs 212 pounds. He’s tough — he returned from a torn ACL in just five and a half months in 2019 — and productive. In 2020, he caught 77 passes for 1,020 yards and seven touchdowns for the Tigers en route to first-team All-ACC honors. He’s not the typical height of a Green Bay receiver, but he’s not your typical 5-foot-10 receiver, either, more like a bulldozer in the body of a football player who moves like a gazelle.
“His skill set is one that’s multiple,” Martin said. “He’s a really good route runner. He has tremendous balance. He can stick his foot in the ground and change direction easily. He can run all the routes in the route tree, but at (his height), he’s also 212 pounds, so he has the strength to survive down the seams, to get off press coverage, blocking, playing physical after the catch, finishing runs, finishing blocks, things like that, also with the added value of being a great decision-maker and sure hands as a punt returner.”
"I definitely have that mentality when I get the ball I'm trying to go north & south to the end zone."@arodgers_3 😤#PackersDraft | @SiriusXMNFL pic.twitter.com/0PtYkNlwhX
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) May 1, 2021
The Packers haven’t featured a potent slot receiver since Randall Cobb left after the 2018 season, but Rodgers might fill the void. He could also fill the offensive gadget role they’ve lacked under head coach Matt LaFleur, one that might also require Rodgers to line up outside, in the backfield and operate in motion for jet sweeps, tosses and decoys.
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Martin coached wide receivers at Kentucky in 2010. His best receiver? Cobb, the Packers’ second-round pick in 2011 who played eight fruitful seasons for the team. If there’s anyone fit to draw the comparison between Cobb and his son, it’s Martin.
“You really look at the body types, the mentalities, the kind of people they are, from the same area (in Tennessee), I think that it’s comparable, the two guys,” Martin said. “Randall was one of the first people to reach out to him when he was drafted by the Packers and when Amari was first starting to play wide receiver — his freshman year (in high school), he was a running back — I really just showed him a lot of stuff on Randall and really talked to him recently about watching Randall.
“Because Randall just had a great feel for the game. He maximized his skill set. Randall did so much for us at Kentucky, inside, outside, special teams, Wildcat, he held field goals, and Amari is kind of a guy that has done everything he was asked to do at Clemson as well.”
Green Bay Packers draft Amari Rodgers: Clemson WR adds to high-powered offense https://t.co/X1cB1U9pzM
— The Athletic Wisconsin (@TheAthleticWISC) May 1, 2021
So yes, feel free to make the comparison yourself. Perhaps visions of Rodgers replicating what Cobb did from 2011-18 in Green Bay will avert your attention from everything happening with the other Rodgers.
If the reigning MVP does in fact stay with the Packers, Martin can’t wait to watch his son in the same offense as a future Hall of Fame quarterback and arguably the best wide receiver in football in a city like Green Bay.
“I’m in this league now, but I’m not afraid to say I’m a big fan of Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams,” Martin said. “I mean, just from college, pro, following their careers. Aaron tied my record for completions in college (in 2004, Rodgers tied Martin’s then-FBS record of 23 consecutive completions in a game), so it’s always different tie-ins.
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“But having Randall in Green Bay and just the respect for that organization over the years with Brett Favre … just seeing my son in that uniform — I was drafted by the Steelers, and one of the biggest things for me being drafted by the Steelers was that I was a Steeler and now that my son’s a Packer, I mean that’s huge.
“There’s only so many types of those organizations in pro football with that type of tradition and the fan base, and how the community of Green Bay surrounds and supports that organization is very different and unique, and that’s something we spoke about today. I said, ‘Man, I think you’re gonna really love being in that city and around that fan base because it’s unique, it’s just different.’ All those factored together … it’s a special scenario, special situation, and I’m just happy that it happened.”
Amari Rodgers, in an interview with former NFL wideout Brandon Marshall almost two months ago, said the Packers drafting him was his dream scenario. His family thought it would happen, too, but Rodgers ignored them because he didn’t want to jinx it. As it turns out, the Packers wanted Rodgers just about as badly as he wanted them after his breakout season for one of the best teams in the country.
“I think he’s starting to scratch the surface,” Martin said. “I think last year, he started to come out of his shell in terms of being a go-to guy for Trevor Lawrence, and I think that type of targeting really showed more of what he could do with the ball in his hands.”
If his father’s word is any indication of what’s to come, Packers fans should be just as excited about their newest weapon.
(Photo of Amari Rodgers: Bob Donnan / USA Today)
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