Carson Wentz has all the buzz, and Jarred Goff is the consensus No. 1 QB in the upcoming NFL Draft, however, Paxton Lynch could ultimately leapfrog both players to be the first passer taken off the board come April.
It’s very simple.
Each of the top three quarterbacks in the draft all have big question marks surrounding them. For Wentz, it’s the level of competition (Division II), which could frighten teams away from selecting the North Dakota State Bison so high in the first round.
For Goff, it’s his skinny frame, which ironically enough, is similar to that of Chiefs QB, Alex Smith. One of the big question marks about Smith back in 2005, was also his skinny frame. Back then, 49ers head coach Mike Nolan had talked about Smith bulking up into the 220-225 area, and that seems to be the same idea with Goff. The fear ultimately is that no general manager wants to select a QB that high in the draft, that can’t survive a full NFL season (like Sam Bradford).
And then there is Paxton Lynch, who is the exact opposite of Wentz and Goff. He’s got the build and framework (6’7, 245 pounds), and he played at Memphis, a Division I school that played the likes of Houston, Ole Miss, and Auburn in the Birmingham Bowl.
Although Lynch didn’t wow against Auburn, the whole key to this, is Cleveland’s new head coach, Hue Jackson.
Jackson, who had been with the Cincinnati Bengals since 2012 as a coach, played against Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco for four years. Flacco has a similar build to Lynch (6’6, 245 pounds) and ironically enough, like Wentz, played at a Division II school (Delware).
It’s quite possible that Jackson, who saw Flacco twice a season for four years, likes the size, build, and sturdiness of Flacco, who until this season, had never missed a game in 8 years.
Lynch fits this mold. He’s got the Flacco like build and he’s mobile, essentially, he’s the best of both Wentz and Goff, rolled into one, and that’s why in April, Paxton Lynch could be the first passer to come off the board.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
