USC center Marcus Martin had the longest wait of any of the 30 players invited to the NFL draft.
"I initially was expecting to be a late-first, early-second-rounder," Martin said during his press conference in New York. "And the round just kept going and going. I just sat there. I was the last guy in the green room. ... You're not the GM, or the head coach. You're not in the war room. All you can do is sit there."
Chances are, though, he's just fine with his wait in the green room because he ended up on one of the best teams in the league.
Martin, the No. 1 center in the draft for NFL Media draft analyst Mike Mayock, was taken by San Francisco with the sixth pick in the third round (70th overall). He was one of two players left in the green room when the third round started; the other was Virginia tackle Morgan Moses, who went to Washington with the second selection in the round.
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Mayock said Martin, who started for two seasons at guard for the Trojans before moving to center as a junior in 2013, "fits exactly" what San Francisco does with its power-running game. "I think he's in the right spot" for his talents, Mayock said, noting that Martin should press incumbent Daniel Kilgore for the starting job at center.
NFL Network analyst Brian Billick was equally impressed with the fit. He noted that the 49ers grabbed Ohio State running back Carlos Hyde, a big, physical downhill runner, in the second round and said the two physical players had to please San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh.
"We're running the counter, we're running the load and we don't care if you know," is how Billick described what the Niners will be saying to foes next season.
Understandably, Martin seemed relieved with finally being selected. He also was classy enough to give a shout out to his high school (Los Angeles Crenshaw) and to USC when interviewed by NFL Network's Melissa Stark onstage at Radio City Music Hall.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
