The Denver Broncos have their quarterback of the future. At least, that is what they’re hoping he’ll be.Denver traded up with the Seattle Seahawks last Thursday in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft, moving up to the No. 26 overall pick to take Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch. The deal meant shipping the Broncos’ No. 31 pick and a third-round selection to Seattle.
The move puts Lynch on a quarterback depth chart that already has Mark Sanchez and Trevor Siemian listed on it.
There are those who are going to question this selection with spirited objection, citing that Lynch is still kind of an overgrown kid. He still has some immaturity in him. He needs to grow up some. He lacks physical development. He lacks experience in a true offense. He has never been in a huddle before, never been under center and never made calls or check downs at the line of scrimmage.
That’s fair. I’ll give them that.
NFL Media analyst Mike Mayock took the case a little further, making a point to emphasize during the draft telecast that Lynch is about a year away. Perhaps more than that.
That’s fine. I’ll give them that, too.
Lynch does need to get stronger, both lower and upper body. There’s really no doubt about that. He relies too much on his arm strength. And when he is scrambling out of the pocket he tends to have a problem, of sorts, with accuracy.
But while we’re so busy writing off this young man in our evaluations of how he doesn’t exactly measure up just yet, let’s keep in mind that he threw 28 touchdowns to just four interceptions and completed 66.8 percent of his passes in 2015. He did, in fact, have the best ratio in the FBS. That’s not bad.
He was 22-16 in three years at Memphis. The Tigers were 7-29 in the three years prior.
It’s also worth noting that the guy towers at 6-foot-7. You can’t teach that. He has a rocket arm and above-average scrambling ability. You can’t teach that, either.
Twitter exploded as the powers that be offered their take on the first-round selection.
Paxton Lynch completely fits John Elway's quarterback profile. Big, tall, strong arm. Not surprised at all Broncos traded up for him.
— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) April 29, 2016
Denver fans must be ecstatic. Lynch needs time to develop, but fantastic spot for him. Possible franchise QB. Elway wins again.
— Brad Evans (@NoisyHuevos) April 29, 2016
Colin Kaepernick and Sam Bradford sigh. #Broncos #PaxtonLynch
— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) April 29, 2016
Jon Gruden is comparing Paxton Lynch to Cam Newton.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 29, 2016
The experience was pretty overwhelming for the promising young football player out of the AAC West division. A mile high, no doubt. Lynch was eventually able to collect his thoughts on being drafted by the Broncos.
“Obviously it’s one of the best teams in the league. They won the Super Bowl,” Lynch said in an interview on NFL Network. “They have a great defense. As a young quarterback, if you get a chance to play, that obviously benefits me a lot.”
Sources across the board say that he has gotten better every year as a college athlete. Lynch is billed as a young man with a willingness to learn at the national level. He is someone who isn’t afraid of the limelight. He is a player who seems to really want it.
Well, he’s going to get some from a range of defensive packages, schemes and different alignments. But he’s also going to bring it with almost the same supporting cast that Peyton Manning employed which totally shredded the AFC’s best defenses.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
