It’s been a long time coming, but the Denver Broncos finally have their quarterback of the future.
Welcome to Denver, Paxton Lynch.
And while we, the fans and media, have spent the last three months speculating over every quarterback from Case Keenum to Colin Kaepernick, apparently Lynch is the guy John Elway and the Broncos have had their eyes set on all along.
Following the trade up to No. 26 and subsequent selection, Elway and head coach Gary Kubiak spoke to the media on the process of drafting Lynch.
Here’s what they had to say:
Elway on if they started the day targeting Lynch:
“Yes, we did. We started working early. We worked the phones from noon on today to try to find where we could slide in. We talked to everybody starting at [No.] 17 all the way up and finally were able to do a deal with the Seahawks. We were thrilled to be able to do that, and Paxton was still there and we’re extremely excited. He’s a big, athletic, strong young guy that fits us perfectly. So we’re really excited that we were able to get the deal done.”
Elway on if Lynch means they’re done with Kaepernick:
“Yeah, we’re probably over with Kaepernick. We’re thrilled that we could get Paxton and have Mark in here like we talked about before. We’re thrilled to get Mark with his experience and the way that he’s going to come in and compete for that job with Paxton and Trevor, and we’ll see what else we have.”
Kubiak on what he saw from Lynch on film:
“I think the biggest thing—I really enjoyed my visit with him when he came in. That’s a great opportunity to spend some time with these prospects. So great visit with him. When I watch him on film, the thing that’s really exciting is that this guy extends plays. He has the knack for making people miss, extending plays, and it’s really hard in this business to coach guys to keep their eyes down the field when they’re moving, and this guy does a great job of that. [He is a] big, strong kid, makes all the throws, moves around very, very well and, like I said, very motivated too. That’s one thing I really liked about him when he was here was how motivated he is to come in here and be successful. So, I just feel very fortunate.”
Kubiak on if Lynch will compete right away for a starting job:
“Yeah, I mean they’re all going to compete. The great thing about our situation right now with Mark and Trevor and of course Paxton now—they’re all coming up together. Even though Mark is a veteran player, he’s new in our system. So the growth together will be a good situation for all three of them. But there are no givens on our team. Everybody competes, and I’m expecting him to come in here and make up some ground really quick. But I think it’s a great group to go to work with. I know [Quarterbacks Coach/Passing Game Coordinator Greg Knapp] and [Offensive Coordinator Rick Dennison] are very excited about him, so we’ve got to make up as much ground as we can.”
Elway on their meetings with Lynch:
“When I meet with everyone, I try to find out a little bit about them. I don’t sit there and grill them for an hour. I just try to get a feel for them, what they are. Now, obviously they spend a lot of time with our coaches and on the board and in film, so that’s where the information (comes from). [Broncos Quarterbacks Coach/Passing Game Coordinator] Greg Knapp spent a lot of time with Paxton, so a lot of our information came from Greg and how he does on the board. For me when I meet with these kids, it’s a matter of me kind of getting to know them, knowing their background and just getting a feel for them. We want to just get to know them.”
Elway on whether the Broncos were set on taking a quarterback in Round 1:
“Paxton’s the guy we had after the first two quarterbacks were gone. Paxton was the guy we had targeted. It was a long night. It’s been a long couple months, actually. Tonight when Paxton was there, we were able to go up there and get Paxton. He was our target all day, and he was our target once those first two quarterbacks went and (we were) trying to figure out where he might fall and if we had an opportunity to do something. He was the guy, and we’re thrilled to have him.”
Kubiak on what it would take for Lynch to be the starter:
“We’ll take it a day at a time. First off, we know that he has the ability to do that, and that’s why we stepped up and went and got him. We’ll put him in the right situation and, like you said, he’s coming to a good football team and needs to stay focused on his job and his growth and what he needs to do. One thing about our team: our guys will embrace him and the will help him. We’ve got a lot of good people around him and, as a quarterback, you can’t ask for anything better than that.”
Elway on if they’re done adding quarterbacks:
“I think we’re going to continue to look at other quarterbacks that can quarterback us too. I think that right now we have Mark [Sanchez] as well as Trevor [Siemian] and now Paxton, so we’ve got two real young guys and a veteran so we’ll stay open to everything. But obviously we’ve got to fill out our roster once we get through the draft and so we’ll have spots and we’ll continue to look and see if we possibly add another veteran quarterback too.”