Denver Broncos: Is Paxton Lynch closer to starting than we thought?
By Nick Ziegler
The Denver Broncos moved up in the first round to take Paxton Lynch, but will the rookie quarterback be ready to contribute in 2016?
This offseason was a difficult one for the Denver Broncos, as they had their starting quarterback Peyton Manning retire, and then lost Brock Osweiler in free agency to the Houston Texans.
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The loss of both Manning and Osweiler left the Broncos without a quarterback, and there was understandably some panic in Denver. John Elway has done an excellent job running the Broncos, as they have reached the Super Bowl twice with him in charge, but this offseason was arguably his greatest challenge thus far.
Elway made the decision to trade for Mark Sanchez of the Philadelphia Eagles to at least give the team a quarterback to start in Week 1 of the 2016 season. Sanchez has been a bust as a former Top-10 pick, but he has shown to be a good backup and spot starter when needed from his time in Philadelphia.
The Broncos have been linked all offseason to San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback Colin Kaepernick, but even though a deal appeared to be close, the two sides never got it done. The contract of Kaepernick was the real hold up in the trade, as the Broncos understandably didn’t want to pay him top dollar.
The Kaepernick rumors were shut down when the Broncos traded up in the first round to select Memphis’ quarterback, Paxton Lynch. While drafting Lynch was certainly about the future for the Broncos, he may also be closer to starting than many people believe.
“Is that going to happen tomorrow? Probably not, but you never know when it can happen,” Elway said on Denver Sports 760. “We think he’s going to be ready quicker than a lot of people think.”
Lynch was expected to need some serious seasoning before he was going to be ready to be a starter in the NFL, but the Broncos and Elway believe that he is going to make the adjustment very quickly.
“He’s a young guy with tremendous athletic ability, he’s got the strong arm, can make all the throws, he’s smart, and he’s a guy that can fit into this offense real well,” Elway said on Denver Sports 760.
At Memphis, Lynch played very well in his junior season, as he totaled 3,778 passing yards, 28 passing touchdowns, and four interceptions. Whenever the time comes for Lynch, he will be walking into a very good situation in Denver. On offense, the Broncos have a very good running back in C.J. Anderson, and then they also have two great wide receivers in Demaryius Thomas and Emanuel Sanders.
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Sanchez is surely going to be the starting quarterback to start the season, but the comments from Elway indicate that Lynch could be a starter at some point this season. The Broncos did a very good job of developing Osweiler after drafting him and few years ago, and they will now be doing the same with Lynch.