OTA Observations: Paxton Lynch shines on day one

The Denver Broncos took the field for their first full practice of OTAs on Tuesday morning and BSN Denver was on hand for the entirety of the workout. As part of their truly impressive cooperation with the media, the Broncos allow for certain observations to be reported on. So, with that in mind, here are our takeaways from the day.

Paxtown

As will be the case for the rest of this offseason, all eyes were on rookie quarterback Paxton Lynch as he took the field with his full squad for the first time. All things considered, the rook was quite impressive.

“The rookie looked really good,” noted wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders.

Lynch completed multiple passes down the field into small windows during 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 work. The highlights—a feathery ball up the seam to TE Krieger Coble, a deep post to WR Kalif Raymond, a fastball to Cody Latimer on a deep in and, the best of the day, a 50-yard dime on a fly route to Jordan “Sunshine” Taylor for a touchdown, Lynch flying down the field behind Taylor to celebrate.

“That was the first time I threw a touchdown in the NFL (laughs),” Lynch said afterward. “I was pretty fired up.”

Of course, it wasn’t all perfect for the new guy in town. It’s clear his footwork is a top area for improvement and the QB knows that himself, noting after practice that he’s been spending extra time on the side with QB coach Greg Knapp trying to get that footwork precise.

Kubiak said of his rookie’s footwork, “You want to be where you don’t think about it. Paxton still has to think about it right now.”

Overall, though, it was a strong day one for the man the Broncos hope to be the future of their franchise.

Marked by injury

Lynch’s top competition for the starting job, Mark Sanchez was actually out on the field today despite having surgery on his left thumb just over one week ago. Sanchez had a soft cast on that left hand, avoiding direct snaps and left-handed handoffs.

Here's an up-close look at the brace on Sanchez' left hand. pic.twitter.com/GKGjsqU4zB

— RK (@RyanKoenigsberg) May 24, 2016

In light of the injury, it was impressive to see Sanchez on the field. Veterans are notorious for taking these OTAs off for injuries much less severe than that one but being on the field today fell in line with everything Sanchez has said since he first put on a Broncos cap—he’s here to be the starting quarterback and he’s going to do what it takes, even if that means participating in the first day of OTAs with a cast on his hand.

“Mark wants the job,” wide reciever Emmanuel Sanders noted after practice. “Everybody in Denver and everybody in the whole NFL knows that.”

The former Jet and Eagle took the first rep of 7-on-7’s, a strike to Demaryius Thomas over the middle but on the next play he threw the only interception of the day by a Broncos QB, hitting linebacker Corey Nelson between the numbers.

In an effort to avoid those direct snaps, Sanchez didn’t participate in 11-on-11 work, Trevor Siemian got most of the first-team work in that period and looked solid.

MIA

In the NFL, it’s rare to have a day of perfect attendance and today was no different for the Broncos. The biggest name missing due to injury for the Orange & Blue was outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware. Ware has a “sore back” according to the head coach and will be day-to-day throughout OTAs.

Also not on the field were three undrafted rookies, Bralon Addison out of Oregon, Kyla Peko out of Oregon State and Aaron Neary our of Easter Washington. You’ll notice all three of those colleges are in the Pacific Northwest and in that part of the country they operate on the trimester system, which leads to later graduation.

“The rookies that haven’t graduated can’t be here,” Kubiak told. “It’s really sad. They’re gonna miss out on everything.”

Neary and Peko are set to graduate on June 11 while Addison will move his tassel over two days later on the 13th.

Kenny Anunike, Adam Gotsis and Virgil Green were present but not participating. Anunike and Gotsis both out with respective knee injuries and Green out after recently having surgery on his finger. Kubiak said Green will miss most of OTAs with his recovery.

Brandon Marshall, who still hasn’t signed his tender, was present, as he has been throughout the offseason program, but didn’t participate in the entirety of the workout.

“What a player. What a leader,” Kubiak said of his main man at inside backer continuing to participate without a contract.

Of course, Von Miller was also absent as he holds out for a long-term deal.

Rep city

There’s good and bad to players not participating, the good side is all the reps for the backups.

Linebacker was the most highlighted position in terms of reps, with Shaq Barrett, Shane Ray Todd Davis and Corey Nelson all getting extended work due to the absences of the top players at their position.

Nelson’s interception of Sanchez was the highlight of the day for those players.

Sam Brenner got reps with the first-teamers at guard and Kapri Bibbs got heightened work with the running backs, it seemed to all be a part of Kubiak’s stated plan to, “rep the young guys.”

Stay tuned to BSN Denver for more in-depth coverage of all that happened today and throughout the offseason for the Denver Broncos.