John Elway and the Broncos lost out on free-agent Brock Osweiler last month, but were not about to lose out on their draft QB target Thursday night, trading up five spots to snare Memphis standout Paxton Lynch with the 26th selection in the first round.
Here are five things you might not know about the three-year starter for the Tigers, who – ironically – is compared to Osweiler (size, frame) and Colin Kaepernick (scrambling stride) in Lindy’s draft preview magazine:
1. The 6-foot-7, 245-pound quarterback, who entered the draft after his junior season, started all 38 of his games played at Memphis, stepping in as a redshirt freshman in 2013. He compiled a 22-16 record as a starter, including a 2-1 mark in bowl games. In 2014, Memphis finished 10-3, outlasting BYU 55-48 in the Miami Beach Bowl to post the program’s first 10-win season since the 1930s.
2. Lynch is the sixth – and easily the highest – Memphis quarterback to be drafted and the first since the Chiefs selected Steve Matthews in the seventh round in 1994. Of the six, only Matthews started an NFL game, going 23-of-35 for 252 yards and no TDs or interceptions for the Jaguars in a 40-14 win over the Giants in Week 2 of the 1997 season. According to Pro Football Reference.com, WR Isaac Bruce and RB Eddie Hill are the only other drafted Memphis players to attempt a pass in NFL history.
3. The quarterback was as much of a runner as a passer in high school, playing in what was primarily a Wing-T offense at Trinity Christian Academy in Deltona, Fla. Rated a three-start recruit by Rivals.com, Lynch only received two scholarship offers and chose Memphis.
4. Operating in an almost exclusively no-huddle, shotgun Lynch ran for 687 yards and 17 TDs on 288 career rushes during his three college seasons. One likely attraction for the Broncos and coach Gary Kubiak is Lynch’s proficiency on bootleg throws. “The first thing that jumps out is his physical presence,” Cincinnati associate head coach Robert Prunty, who faced Lynch three times, told the New York Post recently. “He’s a big guy. Then when you see him run, how athletic he is, the way he can elude tackles. When we played them, the thing that amazed me was on the bootleg play how he can get out of the pocket on those bootleg plays and still make accurate throws.”
5. Lynch tied an NCAA record in his final home game, tossing seven TD passes – among only nine completions and 14 attempts – to seven different receivers in the first half against SMU last Nov. 28. He didn’t play in the second half.
