Denver Broncos Must Unleash Paxton Lynch

The defending champions must unleash a new quarterback and his name is Paxton Lynch. The Denver Broncos have a huge ceiling of talent to explore this season.

Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL Sports Debate. Two brothers from New York yell, scream, and debate sports.

TODD:

One of the biggest roster holes when this offseason was underway was that of quarterback in Denver. Super Bowl champion Peyton Manning was mercifully retiring, opening up the starting spot for Brock Osweiler. But Osweiler decided to instead sign in Houston, thus leaving the Broncos in the lurch as to what to do about the most important position on the football field.

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The only quarterback left on the roster was 2015 seventh-round selection Trevor Siemian. The first course of action to correct this involved signing veteran Mark Sanchez. The second piece of the puzzle was trading up in the first round of the 2016 draft to take Memphis passer Paxton Lynch. Now we have a good ole fashioned quarterback controversy for the defending champions with no clear answer as to which direction to turn.

Sanchez is experienced. He has made the playoffs and won playoff games before in this league. He has also failed numerous times in different stops, seemingly never deserving of the full-time gig in New York and then never capturing the spot in Philadelphia. He has a 56.7 career completion percentage, which is an atrocious figure for this day and age in the NFL. He averages 6.7 yards per pass attempt over his six-year career; an awful number as well that would have ranked him 31st in the league last year.

In Sanchez, the Broncos have a known quantity and that quantity is lacking. In Lynch, the team has a complete unknown, with an unknown ceiling and floor. There was a lot of buzz surrounding Lynch as this past college season progressed. He was considered a possible number-one overall pick early in the draft process before falling back of the top two quarterbacks. But he was still a sought-after first-round passer.

Necessary caveat before I make my point: if Lynch is incapable of running the team’s offense by Week 1, this QB battle becomes moot. No matter how poorly Manning was last year for Denver, he at least knew the offense and knew what he wanted to do. If Lynch doesn’t have the knowledge base down, the Broncos have to turn to Sanchez. There is no alternative.

But if Lynch knows the playbook, I would prefer to see the team turn him loose and see where things go. Head Coach Gary Kubiak has already been quoted as saying Lynch “is anticipating his receivers’ routes as they make their breaks,” according to Andrew Mason of DenverBroncos.com. That’s a huge level of comfort and early return for a man in his first weeks of pro practice.

We already know the team won’t be banking on All-Pro production from quarterback. It won the championship with below-average play at the position last season. Why would it then turn to Sanchez, essentially a below-average passer by definition, rather than seeing what they have in Lynch right from the jump?

Jun 7, 2016; Englewood, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Mark Sanchez (6) during mini camp drills at the UCHealth Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

DAN:

I’m not a fan of starting your rookie quarterback at the earliest possible option, week one of his first season in the league. Even if Lynch knows the playbook well, he can learn an awful lot simply by observing as the back up for that first week. Let Sanchez take week one against the Carolina Panthers, then do the unorthodox thing and hand the reigns to Paxton Lynch.

Week two at home versus the Indianapolis Colts is a perfect opportunity for the Broncos to enact your plan. Rolling with Lynch at home gives the football to a more dynamic passer with significantly less pressure on his shoulders. Sanchez would be playing for his job and his career, while Lynch can grow into the player he wants to be. Starting at home with the crowd on his side is ideal.

Denver has the offensive fire power to mask any hiccups Lynch has as a rookie, plus the defense to close out games. If the worst thing you can say about Lynch this season is that he made a few too many mistakes, then its the same criticism that plagued Mark Sanchez elsewhere in his career. This is a win win situation for Denver and their offense. Let Paxton Lynch rock and roll with a championship team behind him. Let the Broncos defend their title with a new spark at quarterback.

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