Paxton Lynch Impresses At Pro Day
Before going into his Pro Day on Wednesday, just about everyone had Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch behind Carson Wentz and Jared Goff. Afterwards? Many are saying that teams are overlooking him. Here are some of the notes to take away from the 6-foot-7 star:
1. The man can throw a football
Sounds obvious, right? Lynch made 71 scripted throws during his pro day, including many difficult passes that only professional quarterbacks could come close to making. The weather had a huge affect, seeing that it was fairly difficult to succeed with the strong wind, but Lynch had no issues whatsoever with it. The arm strength of Lynch reminded me of Andrew Luck, as the football was able to slice through the wind quite nicely.
2. He is going in the first round
Many experts have Lynch going in the mid to late first round, and Wednesday’s Pro Day solidified that. Teams such as the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams are in the market for a quarterback, so I would personally expect either of those teams to take a shot on him (pending trades during the draft). You could also see the Chargers or Cowboys trade up in the first round for Lynch, as both teams attempt to look ahead for their quarterback of the future.
3. For a tall guy, he has nice footwork
Lynch stated that he wished to show scouts that his footwork is just as nice as his arm, and he accomplished that to my belief. Back in Memphis, Lynch spent a majority of snaps in the shotgun formation, but his Pro Day proved that he is pretty flexible when it comes to the system he plays within. The Broncos should peak their ears a little bit, knowing that Peyton Manning also played from the shotgun formation for a majority of his career, meaning that will not need to change up their system much to make Lynch successful.
4. All eyes were on him, proving he can work on a big stage
26 out of 32 NFL team scouts were in attendance on Wednesday afternoon for Lynch’s Pro Day, and he was quite successful. This shows that not only can he be successful with attention on him, but he thrives off of it. Team such as the Jets, Saints, Ravens and Steelers were in attendance.
5. He might get taken earlier than expected
With teams such as the Cowboys and Chargers holding meetings with Lynch, a lot of NFL teams will get anxious on Lynch. I would look for Lynch to go up a few more spots than usual, just to make sure he isn’t stolen within a pending trade. Overall, I would like to see the Rams take Lynch in this draft, as he will compete for a starting job for the 2016 NFL season.
