The Denver Broncos didn’t have to give up the farm to acquire the quarterback they wanted. While most talent evaluators around the league viewed Jared Goff as the top quarterback in the 2016 NFL Draft, John Elway and the Denver Broncos reportedly had Paxton Lynch rated higher, per James Palmer of NFL Network.
Denver did trade up from No. 31 to No. 26 to land their guy, giving up a third-round pick (No. 94 overall) to the Seattle Seahawks to make the move.
But it wasn’t nearly the ridiculous bounty the Los Angeles Rams or Philadelphia Eagles gave up to land their quarterbacks. Even better for the Broncos, Lynch is probably in the best scenario to start right away of all three top passers taken during the first round.
If Elway is right, he’s going to look like a genius.
After the move, he made it clear the Broncos are no longer interested in pursuing a trade with the San Francisco 49ers for Colin Kaepernick. That entire situation is getting stickier by the day, and it’s a story we’ll be following closely.
Back to Lynch, the rookie will be thrown into the starting quarterback mix with Mark Sanchez, who now has an uphill battle to achieve his goal.
“They’re all going to compete. They’re all coming up together. Even though Mark (Sanchez) is a veteran player, he’s new in our system,” head coach Gary Kubiak said late Thursday night, via Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post.
You can be sure Lynch will forever be compared to Goff and even Carson Wentz, who was taken No. 2 overall by the Eagles. One thing to remember when future evaluations do occur is this: It takes three or four years to fully gauge how effective a young quarterback will be in the NFL.
With that in mind, let’s not be too hasty in our judgements.
Lynch does appear to be a terrific fit in Kubiak’s system. Bolstered by a strong running game and blessed with talented wide receivers, he should flourish in due time.