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 to 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 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, 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. New head coach
Dan Quinn and defensive coordinator
Joe Whitt Jr. 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 Atlanta Falcons. 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. 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.The next week, he 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. In the
NFC Championship Game against the
Philadelphia Eagles and recorded five combined tackles (three solo).
2025 At the start of the
2025 season, Martin was named the starting free safety again opposite of
Will Harris. Throughout the season, Martin's gameplay was criticized specifically when it came to his tackling. Week 4's 34-27 loss to the
Atlanta Falcons both Martin and
Jeremy Reaves were highlighted as key factors in the defense's struggles with a highlight of both failing to tackle running back
Tyler Allgeier before scoring a 15-yard touchdown. On
Monday Night Football, Martin missed a key tackle in the fourth quarter on
Chicago Bears running back
D'Andre Swift, who would score a 55-yard rushing touchdown and contributed to the 25-24 loss. In Week 16, he was ejected for throwing a punch after a brawl broke out between the Washington defense and Philadelphia offense in the fourth quarter. On the
Christmas matchup against the
Dallas Cowboys, Martin was benched by head coach
Dan Quinn in the second quarter following a blown coverage assignment which resulted in a 86-yard receiving touchdown by
KaVontae Turpin. ==Career statistics==