Rookie Paxton Lynch Coming Along Nicely

We are now just a day away from the opening of Denver Broncos training camp, as all the players are set to report and meet with the media throughout the day.  However, the rookies have been here all week and have been getting a jump start on their first training camp experience in the NFL.  The rookies have already taken to the field and the media has got to catch up with the youngsters before the veterans have arrived.

Yesterday was Paxton Lynch’s turn to take the podium and from the sounds of it, he is taking full advantage of the opportunity to practice with just the rookies.

"“I feel good. It feels good to be back in the building with all of the rookies, getting these two days before the vets get in and getting your wheels turning again and everything fired back up. I know I’m excited for the vets to get back in  and to start camp.”"

For Paxton, getting as many repetitions as he possibly can while trying to digest a brand new playbook is something that is incredibly helpful for a young quarterback; especially when trying to gain ground in an uphill race to be the starter for the defending champions.  Calling plays in the huddle is a big part of his adjustment, and to his credit, he thinks he coming along swimmingly in this regard:

"“It’s getting there to where I’m comfortable in the huddle, but I’m not to that point just yet because all of my college career was mostly no-huddle stuff. Being in the huddle is somewhat new to me so when you only get a couple of weeks of it or a month of being in the huddle, you’re not going to have it down like the back of your hand. It’s definitely coming to me and I feel that I’m improving on it week to week.”"

The case was made a week ago for Paxton Lynch to become the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos now.  For that to happen, calling plays in the huddle will have to become second nature, as will the plays in that dictionary of a playbook, which according to Lynch is “getting its way down there”.

Most outside of the Broncos believe that Paxton will need this year as a redshirt year, but there are two people inside the Broncos organization that may not feel

as strongly about this notion; John Elway and Paxton Lynch himself.  Elway was quoted earlier in the offseason saying “We think he’s going to be ready quicker than a lot of people think,” and backed that up as training camp opened today, stating that the quarterback position is “wide open.”   Lynch also went on record yesterday echoing that very same sentiment.

"“I definitely think I have an opportunity to better myself and put myself up in the position to play right away or sooner than I had thought. I knew [QB] Mark [Sanchez] and [QB] Trevor [Siemian] were going to be ahead of me because of their experience—Trevor with his experience in the offense and Mark with his experience in the league—and me being a rookie. This is the first time that I’ve seen a playbook like that, so I knew it was going to be tough and I knew I was going to be behind. The biggest thing for me is just staying confident in myself, keep my head up, keep pushing through and keep grinding. It’ll come to you eventually. From a competition standpoint, you’re not just going to say, ‘Yeah, I’ll take the back seat.’ It’s my job as a rookie to push those guys that are ahead of me however I can.”"

The quarterbacks are going to be under the microscope more than any other position starting tomorrow.  Paxton Lynch will be at the forefront of the evaluation, and the coaches aren’t going to waste time in determining whether or not things have slowed down for the rookie since OTA’s.  Over the past month Lynch has been entrenched in his playbook, studying daily.  He’s also been throwing routes to his brother and Mose Frazier, fine tuning his footwork which he says is “where it needs to be” at this point.

Footwork, calling plays in the huddle, and the massive playbook were all things that Lynch was admittedly behind with.  These are all things that can be studied, practiced, and mastered through hard work and repetition.  Head coach Gary Kubiak also indicated in his presser today that he had already seen improvement out of Paxton in these ares.

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Talent however, cannot be studied, nor practiced, and talent is something that flows through Paxton Lynch’s veins.  If Paxton has gained some ground on Sanchez and Siemian, as he feels he has, talent could take over in this quarterback race.

No, Lynch probably won’t as fluid in the pocket and Sanchez nor Siemian, and the playbook will likely have to be smaller, and the game plans simpler, but Lynch can make the improvisational plays with his feet, and natural talent; plays that can extend drives, and turn into big plays that lead to touchdowns; plays that lesser talents such as Mark Sanchez and Trevor Siemian simply won’t be able to match.

With Lynch, the formula will be simple; hand off a lot, remember that punting isn’t a bad thing, not forcing throws, and let that talent take over a few times a game to hit big throws, and make big plays with his feet.   With an all-world defense, this is a formula that can win the Broncos a lot of games.

The few days Paxton got with just the rookies gave him an opportunity to show the coaches how far he come since OTA’s.  If the coaches feel he has made up some ground in the areas he was lacking, with the talent he has, it won’t much for them to find a reason to increase his reps with the first team offense and give him a legitimate shot to open the season as the starter in the Broncos Super Bowl rematch with the Panthers.  Practice begins tomorrow at 9am MST; the time has finally come to see what the kid has.  Game on, 2016 is finally here.