Just like anything in life, there’s what you want to happen, what you don’t want to happen and what likely will happen.

Some folks will win the lottery, others will end up with no money at all, but most will continue to work and be okay financially.

We often dream of the best, fear the worst and usually finish somewhere in the middle.

That’s what’s going to happen when the Paxton Lynch era officially begins on Wednesday at Dove Valley. Per multiple reports, including Mile High Sports’ Benjamin Allbright who was first, Lynch, Trevor Siemian and Brock Osweiler were informed of the decision on Tuesday.

Could Lynch be a future Hall of Famer? I suppose.

Could Lynch only be in the NFL the rest of this season? Sure.

Will Lynch most likely end up somewhere in between the two extremes? Yes.

Let’s take a dive into the best, worst and most realistic outcomes of Lynch’s NFL career, starting with the worst.

WORST CASE SCENARIO

Lynch bombs Sunday against the Raiders.

We’re talking Nathan Peterman bad.

He comes out chucking the ball all over the field, and Oakland gets not only its first interception of the season(!), but two or three more after that. The locker room is down on Lynch after a bad loss, appalled that the coaching staff allowed him under center after being underwhelming two training camps and preseasons in a row.

But it doesn’t stop there. Denver goes to Miami, Lynch once again gets the start and once again has people in Denver screaming “bust” at the top of their lungs even though the Broncos are thousands of miles away.

After yet another loss full of multiple interceptions, the coaching staff gives him one final start. And it’s rock bottom. Lynch loses at home to the Jets in one of the more embarrassing defeats in franchise history. The Broncos’ losing streak reaches nine games and, facing a revolt, Vance Joseph has no choice but to name Siemian the starter (again) for the final three contests.

Unable to find a trade partner in the offseason, Denver is forced to release Lynch and eat the more than $4 million in dead cap money.

During the summer of 2018, Lynch enters the real world to do something besides football.

BEST CASE SCENARIO

Under new offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave, armed with a simplified playbook, Lynch goes into The Black Hole on Sunday and has the Broncos’ offense clicking like it hasn’t since 2014. Denver beats the Raiders, the AFC playoff picture continues to open up and the team goes on a roll.

We’re not just talking any roll – behind the inspiring play from Lynch and leadership no one knew he had in him, Denver takes advantage of a favorable schedule to sneak into the tournament at 9-7. They get an upset win on Wild Card Weekend, before flaming out in New England in the Divisional Round. It was a helluva start for the kid.

Lynch enters the 2018 season as the clear No. 1 QB, and Denver can once again address the offensive line in the first round of the NFL Draft.

With experience under his belt, Lynch and the Broncos go on to win the AFC West at 12-4 and face the Patriots in the AFC Championship game for the third time in six years. Lynch bests Tom Brady, effectively ending Brady’s HOF career, and the Broncos go on to win Super Bowl LIII.

Lynch, an eventual Hall of Famer, retires in 2033 with several rings on his hand.

MOST REALISTIC SCENARIO

You done dreaming?

Lynch isn’t going to be that good. But he’s also not going to be that bad.

He’ll probably go 2-4 or 3-3 down the stretch. The Broncos will finish around pick No. 10 and likely select a quarterback in next April’s draft. John Elway might find a trade partner willing to take a chance on Lynch, or he might just keep him as middle-of-the-road backup quarterback.

Lynch will have a six- to eight-year NFL career, never doing much, but not flaming out of the league either.

***

That’s the reality you face with the next six games, Broncos fans. Lynch is going to start all of them, and they’re not going to be much fun. But they probably won’t be an unmitigated disaster, either.

That’s how life generally works though, right? Nothing is ever a fantasy movie. It’s also not always a horror movie. It’s just some sort of half-decent comedy that’s in between the two.

Paxton Lynch will end up being The Hangover Part II. Or something like that.