Denver Broncos: Paxton Lynch is a better option than Mark Sanchez

After losing Peyton Manning‘s heir apparent, Brock Osweiler, in free agency, the Denver Broncos may have no choice but to play Paxton Lynch immediately

For the past four seasons, the Denver Broncos have known who was going to line up under center when their season kicked off. During that same time frame, many believed they knew who was going to be the next guy to start for the foreseeable future.

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In 2012 the Broncos signed free agent Peyton Manning, arguably one of the greatest quarterbacks to play the game. He was on the back nine of his career, so they also invested a second-round pick in Arizona State quarterback Brock Osweiler.

Four years of grooming went down the drain for Denver, though, as Osweiler bolted for the Houston Texans right after Manning retired. To answer for the quarterback’s departure, they traded with the Philadelphia Eagles for Mark Sanchez and moved up in the NFL Draft for Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch.

Scouts were high on Lynch, but the general consensus seems to be that he needs time to develop as he is incredibly gifted, but still raw. The question remains, can the Broncos really wait for Lynch to develop?

After winning a Super Bowl in Manning’s final season, Denver should have been primed for a strong 2016 with a chance to repeat. The defense was spectacular in 2015 and deserves the credit for their championship run.

Moving from Peyton to Brock would have been a smooth transition. Osweiler went 5-2 last season as a starter and should have had similar success moving forward. Now thanks to his exodus, the team may be leaning towards playing Mark Sanchez.

As Eagles and Jets fans already know, this isn’t the way to go. Sanchez will do just enough to make people think things will be all right. He can buy time in the pocket, he can deliver some great passes, and he seems to have all the confidence in the world.

The problem is that Sanchez throws ill-advised passes at the worst possible time. He did so in a 2014 loss to the Washington Redskins, as the Eagles saw their season come to an end when it looked like they had the NFC East won as late as Thanksgiving.

He did it again in 2015 with the game on the line against the Miami Dolphins. With just a couple of minutes remaining, Sanchez missed receiver Miles Austin in the end zone and the Eagles dropped a close one 20-19.

Articles the day after these games sound the same. Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com details that Sanchez played well, but had the one or two mistakes that cost his team in the loss to Washington in 2014.

"The throw was one of the few blemishes of Sanchez’s game, as he finished 37 of 50 for 374 yards, two touchdowns, one key interception and one lost fumble. The 347 yards was a season high, and up until the interception, it looked like Sanchez was going to be a hero."

Mark Eckel of the same website sounded pretty similar following the mistake Sanchez made in the Miami game.

"The fatal flaw in Sanchez’ otherwise efficient game through the years, both with the Eagles and Jets, has always been the bad interception — not that there are any good ones."

History always has a way of repeating itself. Early indications out of Broncos camp say that Sanchez is impressing his coaches. Fans better hope that they don’t take the bait like the guys at Sanchez’s former stops did.

With this defense, all they need to win is a quarterback that doesn’t blow games. That’s exactly what Sanchez does. The Denver Broncos would be much better off going with the kid they invested a first-round pick in.

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He may be young and more of an unknown, but Paxton Lynch gives the Broncos their best chance at winning games in 2016 and beyond.