Is the Paxton Lynch experiment over in Denver? The fans sure seem to think so as they started a “GoFundMe” page for the Broncos to release Lynch. It is truly difficult to defend Lynch’s production over his first few years as a Bronco.
Denver Broncos Have a Conundrum With Paxton Lynch
When John Elway spent a first round pick on Lynch in 2016 NFL draft, he was in line to be the heir apparent to Peyton Manning. He has been anything but that. In each of his first two years, he entered training camp competing for the starting quarterback position but lost out to seventh-round pick Trevor Siemian both times. This year, Elway and the Broncos realized they needed to go out and find a quarterback, because frankly, no one on the roster was cutting it. The Broncos signed Case Keenum to be their starter heading into the 2018/19 NFL season, making Lynch the backup.
After a string of training camp practices and a preseason game, Lynch has already lost his backup role to another seventh-round pick, Chad Kelly. That’s another indication that the Paxton Lynch experiment has indeed failed. Lynch now enters week two of the pre-season as the third-string quarterback, and his future in Denver seems to be in doubt. It has been reported that the Broncos are looking to add a veteran quarterback to back up Keenum, and if they do, it is likely that they will cut Lynch, not Kelly.
Lynch has not shown nearly enough improvement from his first year to justify keeping him. He is still erratic in terms of his decision-making and, after three years, he still cannot properly read through progressions. He is not effective pre-snap at the line of scrimmage, and his abilities don’t improve much post-snap. In the little gameplay we have seen of him, he has shown off his athleticism and arm strength, but that can only get you so far in the NFL. There were concerns about Lynch’s ability to translate to the NFL game since he ran a purely college style offense in Memphis. He has done nothing to show that those concerns weren’t valid.
It is tough to let a first-round pick go, but Elway has to accept that this was a mistake. If Lynch doesn’t improve in the remainder of the preseason games, it is going to be increasingly difficult to justify keeping him around. The Broncos are a franchise who are not accustomed to losing and do not accept mediocrity. Keeping Lynch around would send the message to fans that they are okay with poor quarterback production, as long as it from a high draft pick. If the Broncos want to return to their winning ways, it starts with attitude. Cutting Lynch in order to show that the Broncos accept nothing less than excellence would perfectly display their commitment to a winning attitude. There is only so many times a first round pick can lose a competition to a seventh-rounder. Some experiments fail, and it seems like the Paxton Lynch experiment most certainly has.
