Paxton Lynch is getting ready for the start of training camp, and he has not missed a beat when it comes to working on his craft.
Lynch was interviewed by the media on Tuesday, mostly answering questions about how well he has become accustomed to the “new” offense and how he felt coming into the start of training camp.
“I feel good,” Lynch said. “It feels good to be back in the building with all of the rookies, getting these two days before the vets get in and getting your wheels turning again and everything fired back up. I know I’m excited for the vets to get back in and to start camp.”
When asked how well he was progressing, Lynch sounded positive and upbeat about the steps he has taken, especially mentally.
“Just how far that I’ve come mentally,” Lynch explained. “When I first got here, it was kind of thrown at me and I was having trouble calling plays in the huddle. Now, I’m doing a lot better with that. Going out there, my footwork is where it needs to be. I still have a while to go with that, but from when I first got here until now, I’m very pleased with my progress.”
Lynch wasn’t afraid to tell the media that he wasn’t fully comfortable with the playbook and inside the huddle, just yet.
Comfort with Playbook: “It’s not 100 percent, obviously because of the time that I’ve been here, but I’m more confident in myself in knowing the plays and playing a little bit faster than when I first arrived here.”
Comfort inside Huddle: “It’s getting there to where I’m comfortable in the huddle, but I’m not to that point just yet because all of my college career was mostly no-huddle stuff. Being in the huddle is somewhat new to me, so when you only get a couple of weeks of it or a month of being in the huddle, you’re not going to have it down like the back of your hand. It’s definitely coming to me and I feel that I’m improving on it week to week.”
With Mark Sanchez and Trevor Siemian ahead of Lynch on the depth chart, the first-round draft pick still sounded convinced that he will eventually move in front of those two, but values the experience both quarterbacks have with the offense. He has also valued the help he has received from veterans during OTA’s.
QB Depth Chart: “I definitely think I have an opportunity to better myself and put myself up in the position to play right away or sooner than I had thought. I knew [QB] Mark [Sanchez] and [QB] Trevor [Siemian] were going to be ahead of me because of their experience — Trevor with his experience in the offense and Mark with his experience in the league — and me being a rookie. This is the first time that I’ve seen a playbook like that, so I knew it was going to be tough and I knew I was going to be behind. The biggest thing for me is just staying confident in myself, keep my head up, keep pushing through and keep grinding. It’ll come to you eventually. From a competition standpoint, you’re not just going to say, ‘Yeah, I’ll take the back seat.’ It’s my job as a rookie to push those guys that are ahead of me however I can.”
QB Competition: “From what I hear, it is the way the vets are in OTAs and what you do before camp is a little different from when they do get into camp because it’s time to lock in and take care of your business. My relationship with them so far has been good. They have been really helpful for me whenever I had bad practices or questions about something. They’ve always been there to help me.”
It sounds like the Broncos drafted a workaholic who will stop at nothing to be the best at what he does. Even with his time off, he explained how he continued to put in the work necessary to become a better NFL quarterback.
“I did a lot of football when I was home. I didn’t have receivers back where I was training in Orlando so I had my brother out there catching passes for me and watching my footwork,” Lynch said. “I had an opportunity to get to Memphis for a little over 10 days and do a charity event there as well as work with [WR] Mose [Frazier] because he was in Memphis, too. I got a chance to work with Mose and some other receivers that were already at Memphis whenever they got their work done. They were out there and ran some routes for me.”
Lynch told the media that he was in a similar situation as his two first-round counterparts, Carson Wentz and Jared Goff.
“You can say that because we’re in the same class together, but I’m pretty sure they’re just like me right now,” Lynch said. “They’re worried about what they got to do where they are with the Rams and the Eagles, just like I’m worried about what’s going on in this building and this team. You see those guys on ESPN doing what they’re doing, but that’s different than what’s going on in the locker room. I’m just focused on what I’ve got to focus on here.”
The work ethic this young quarterback has shown thus far has given Broncos fans, teammates and the front office faith that the team made the right decision on draft night. As long as he continues to thrive and grow in Gary Kubiak‘s offense there is no reason why the Broncos can’t return to the playoffs in 2016.
