The Denver Broncos want to give Paxton Lynch “every opportunity to win the starting job.”
That is according to Mile High Sports’ Benjamin Allbright, who is one of the more trusted voices on the Broncos and NFL.
Internally, #Broncos want to give Paxton Lynch every opportunity to win starting QB job. May bring a veteran body in, dont expect "big name"
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) January 15, 2017
When you add the moves Vance Joseph and John Elway have made with the offensive coaching staff, you see how this is playing out. The additions of Mike McCoy and Bill Musgrave show how serious they are about this. The Broncos want to know what they have in Lynch, their No. 1 draft pick from 2016. And this is a sign that the Broncos want to figure it out now.
Musgrave commented in 2011 about the benefit of giving young quarterbacks big opportunities.
“Ideally, you would like to find a young guy that has a bunch of promise and potential and you would hand him the keys and let him make his mistakes and learn, but also know that he would be there for you in the long term,” he said just after being tapped as the Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator - a move made in part because of Musgrave’s work developing Matt Ryan with the Atlanta Falcons.
“I believe that will be one of our goals to identify any candidates that can fit that role, but at the same time be ready to find some other fellows that may have some experience, that can come in and be effective and also have some upside to them as well."
Said this on-air. All of the #Broncos eggs are in Paxton Lynch. Put him on the fast track to start upcoming year. Time to shine starts now https://t.co/eX51NWcmZR
— Ronnie K (@RonnieKRadio) January 15, 2017
Allbright’s reporting was backed up by Mile High Sports’ Ronnie Kohrt, an executive producer at Mile High Sports. As Kohrt tweeted: “All of the Broncos eggs are in on Paxton Lynch. Put him on the fast track to start upcoming year. Time to shine now.”
The faster Elway and the Broncos know what they have in Lynch, the sooner they know what the future holds at the quarterback position.
BIG trouble. If he wins the job now Lynch is an official bust https://t.co/q8aDFyndTi
— Darren McKee (@dmac1043) January 13, 2017
Or as Darren McKee tweeted to MHR’s Scotty Payne: “If (Trevor Siemian) wins the job now, Lynch is an official bust.”
If all that wasn’t enough, Broncos Ring of Fame (and should be Hall of Fame) linebacker Karl Mecklenburg said in a Facebook post over the weekend the Broncos will move forward with Lynch.
“Mike McCoy is the new Broncos offensive coordinator. That hire would have not have happened without indicating to John Elway how he plans to use Paxton Lynch. Sorry Trevor Siemian, but you’re going to have a hard time winning your job back,” Mecklenburg wrote.
“John Elway spent a first-round draft choice on Paxton Lynch, and sees some of himself in the hard-throwing athletic quarterback.”
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Since the Broncos have brought in new coaches, there has been talk about the new offense and what that means for the quarterbacks - especially Lynch. How will he respond? Will he be able to grasp the changes? How effective will he be? Will it be too much?
We get an indication of how Musgrave may approach that with this quote from the same story in 2011 on his coaching strategy at the time.
“We'll make it very streamlined,” he said then. “We'll make the formations easy to learn for the guys, because I believe in players playing fast. We don't want them out there thinking what word was used for this or that."
That follows suit with what Joseph said he wants from Denver’s offense.
Throws like this are why the buzz for Lynch to start next year is so strong. If he ever figures out what the heck is going on, look out. pic.twitter.com/KJitF6fYnI
— Jeffrey Essary (@JeffreyEssary) January 17, 2017
“I want an offense that is attacking,” he said in his initial news conference. “Being a defensive guy my entire career, only 14 seasons, when you play an offense that is attacking, it makes you be careful of your calls. If an offense was conservative, I loved it because I can be the attacker. But if the offense was attacking, with multiple personnel groups and all types of formations, that is what I want them to look like.
“I want to score points. Points win. Obviously defense wins championships, but you have to score points. I want an offense with swagger and I want an offense that’s up-tempo and has a chance to score a lot of points.”
All the signs show the Broncos are all in on Lynch and giving him every opportunity to become the Broncos starting quarterback in 2017.
Now it’s up to him to take it.