6th-rounder Kyle Murphy excited to join Packers

GREEN BAY -- General manager Ted Thompson believes you never can have enough big bodies on your football team, and that sentiment again was reflected Saturday.

The Packers selected Stanford offensive lineman Kyle Murphy with their sixth-round pick (200th overall). The 6-foot-7, 308-pound Murphy was the second offensive lineman picked by the Packers in this draft, following the selection of Indiana tackle Jason Spriggs in the second round Friday.

The Packers also used four of their seven picks on players from the Pac-12, including two from Stanford, which made west regional scout Sam Seale a popular man the last three days.

“Getting a call from the Packers was quite extraordinary,” Murphy said. “Quite unbelievable. Just getting one of the best organizations in the game to call you and tell you they are using a draft pick to pick you was just surreal for me. Definitely worth the wait in my eyes. I can’t wait to get to work. Can’t wait to get out to Green Bay and get this thing going.”

Murphy apparently had a lot of fans in the Packers’ organization, perhaps none bigger than offensive line coach James Campen. General manager Ted Thompson said a few minutes after making the pick that Murphy was one of Campen’s favorites.

“We had several guys go out to the West Coast and Stanford in particular,” Thompson said. “He is a big man and he plays the game well.”

Profile: Kyle Murphy at a glance

Related: Complete Packers draft coverage

Murphy, the young brother of former Harvard and Minnesota Vikings tackle Kevin Murphy, played left tackle last season and was an All-Pac-12 first-team selection. He played right tackle as a junior, when he was selected second-team all-conference.

While known for his work at tackle, Murphy said he is comfortable wherever the team wants to put him. It also should help that he played in a pro-style offense while at Stanford.

Murphy’s agent, Bruce Tollner, was told by about 60 or 70 percent of the teams who talked to him that they see Murphy as a tackle. Murphy estimated that he played right tackle about 80 percent of the time during the Senior Bowl, with his other reps coming at left tackle.

He said he played guard a handful of times at Stanford.

There are questions about his ability to play that spot, as well as if he has enough strength to play right tackle or athleticism to play left tackle, but they don’t come from Murphy.

“I’m just unbelievably excited to be part of the offensive line and be in that room, and just play wherever they need me to play,” he said. “I think I have the position flexibility. I have been fortunate to play both sides at Stanford.

“I think I can play guard, tackle, center, wherever the coach needs me. I’m definitely not going to pigeonhole myself anywhere. I’ve only played tackle throughout my career, but the NFL is a different game.”

It also will be nice to have some friends to help him once he gets here.

Stanford linebacker Blake Martinez was drafted by Green Bay in the fourth round on Saturday, while Packers receiver Ty Montgomery was a teammate of Murphy’s for three seasons. Montgomery went on Twitter to welcome both Martinez and Murphy to the team.

Murphy also received about 80 texts in the first five minutes after being drafted, and one of them was from Martinez.

“That is a great guy to be with from a character standpoint, from a personal standpoint,” Murphy said. “Everything you could possibly think of.

“Just going somewhere with someone I’m familiar with, someone I’m in the same situation with, as well as Ty Montgomery. Just having those familiar faces from Stanford and some guys I know I can relate to will just definitely make the transition that much easier.”