After Morgan Moses walked across the stage at Radio City Music Hall to hug Roger Goodell as the second pick of the third round, Marcus Martin became the loneliest person in the building.
The USC center was the last player left in the green room at the NFL draft, once Moses, a tackle from Virginia, was picked 66th overall by the Redskins. He finally got to make the walk himself when he was picked in the third round, 70th overall, by the San Francisco 49ers. Goodell replaced NFL vice president Troy Vincent at the podium to announce Martin's choice, and to give him the long-awaited hug.
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The NFL had invited 30 players to attend, an all-time high. The first was Jadeveon Clowney, obviously, a few minutes after 8 p.m. ET Thursday Friday's Day 2 began with nine players still there, and after the second round it was down to two. Martin exited the empty room at about 9:53 p.m.
Martin moved from guard to center last season, had a strong season, injured his knee in the regular-season finale and missed USC's bowl game, then entered the draft early. He was unable to work out at the combine because of the knee, but clearly had impressed enough for the NFL to view him as a possible first-round pick.
NFL.com listed him as the top-rated center in the draft. One center was taken ahead of him, though, Colorado States Weston Richburg, by the Giants with the 43rd overall pick.