As the NFL draft approaches this weekend, we continue our tracking of the now former Western Mustangs’ defensive tackle.  Vaughn Martin looks a near certainty to be a member of an NFL team by training camp.  The only question now remains if he will be drafted or if he will sign a free agent contract.

When I first posted about Martin back in February, it looked like he was going to draw interest from a team or two as a training camp invitee. Now, it looks more and more likely that he will be drafted as high as the fifth round so an interested team won’t lose him.

If you take a look at message boards and fan blogs around the NFL, there are a lot of people that are interested in drafting the Mustang defensive lineman.  A recent mock draft on Broncos Banter has Martin being drafted in the fifth round by the Denver Broncos.  The general consensus now is that with the large number of teams that have expressed interest in Martin, there might be a bidding war for him if he gets to free agency so he is likely to end up drafted to save the drafting team some money.

As for the actual teams, I mentioned in an earlier post that at least five teams have invited him for private workout sessions.  Digging around the internet has shown that he has worked out for Miami, Indianapolis, San Diego, Carolina and Green Bay while the other teams mentioned likely have worked him out but the blogosphere hasn’t picked up on it.  A report in the UWO campus newspaper at the beginning of April said that 24 teams have expressed interest in him.  They didn’t name a source for that information but knowing the reputation of that publication, they probably made it up.  Although, that number could have come from Martin’s agent, former Mustang Matt Baxter, who is best known for failing a drug test in 2007 and subsequentally being banned from all Canadian university competition for 2 years.

It’s not just teams that have him highly rated.  The National Football Post has him ranked as the 7th best nose tackle for a 3-4 defensive formation in the draft.  It’s Vaughn’s raw athletic skill that seems to be why he’s drawing attention.  Teams don’t seem to mind the fact that he doesn’t have a lot of big game experience.  I guess college experience doesn’t always translate to success in the pros.  Just ask Ryan Leaf.

Update: Vaughn Martin Drafted