Broncos Country was buzzing on Monday as reports out of UCHealth Training Center said second-year quarterback Paxton Lynch looked great against Denver’s all-world defense in OTA practice.
Several local media members suggested it was the kind of breakthrough day that many Broncos fans have been waiting to hear about since Denver moved up in the 2016 draft to select Lynch 26th overall.
When asked about the young quarterback’s performance on Monday, Broncos head coach Vance Joseph had strong words of praise.
“He had a great day,” Joseph told the gathered media. “You’ve seen how many days, three? I’ve seen what now, seven? It was a good day for the entire offense. He made some nice strolls. Yes, it’s fair. He had a great day.”
But not everyone watching was so convinced that it was a turning point for Lynch, or even that the day was as good as advertised.
Arnie Stapleton, who covers the Broncos for the Associated Press, was present at practice and told Renaud Notaro of Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 that Lynch’s performance wasn’t without its flaws.
“I am not amongst the crowd that thinks that Paxton had a great day,” Stapleton said via phone. “Did he have his best day that we’ve seen? Yes. That’s not saying much. He hasn’t had good days yet.
“Today he made a couple of good throws, Paxton Lynch did, but they came after some really bad decisions and some really bad plays again. If this were a game, he’d never get to the point where he’d be able to throw the touchdown pass.”
Stapleton was speaking on a TD pass to Demaryius Thomas that had other media buzzing, but he noted that Lynch was not reading the entire field during his work on Monday and would have been the victim of a sack on multiple occasions.
Stapleton likened the competition between Lynch and incumbent starter Trevor Siemian to a boxing match.
“He’s still losing seven rounds to one,” Stapleton said of Lynch’s overall performance. “So, you win one round in a boxing match, you’re still losing.”
Listen to the full interview with Stapleton, including specifics on how Paxton Lynch is struggling to read the field, in the podcast below.
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Catch The Final Verdict with Notaro and Jacobs every Monday-Thursday from 6p-8p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 or stream live any time for the best local coverage of Colorado sports from Denver’s biggest sports talk lineup.