3. Kyle Murphy
Experience: Senior
School: Stanford
Height/Weight: 6-6/305 LBS
Projected Round: 3rd
Anytime you hear Stanford and lineman in the same sentence, your ears have to perk up, right? I mean, they produce linemen like Alabama produce running backs. And while Kyle Murphy isn’t one of the best to come out in the last few years, he’s pretty darn good.
Really, the only thing holding him back from being a day-one or early-day-two selection is elite athleticism. While Murphy has great quickness, and he’s got the strength to dominate in the run game, he can be beat, especially by speed rushers on the outside.
Likely, any team that drafts Murphy will end up moving him back over to right tackle, where he played before his senior season, or even inside to guard. Still, that’s not a horrible option for the Broncos. In all likelihood, they’d be looking for the type of guy who could swing between multiple positions, and if he could increase his foot speed even slightly, he could become an extremely effective right tackle.
Even still, he’s the type of guy who looks significantly better in game than in practice. During the Senior Bowl, Murphy consistently got beat on one-on-one drills during the practices leading up to the game, but once it mattered, he played great.
Getting a “gamer” in the third round would not be a bad pick by the Broncos.
