Nov 14, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Memphis Tigers quarterback Paxton Lynch (12) prepares to throw the ball during the third quarter against the Houston Cougars at TDECU Stadium. The Cougars won 35-34. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

This year the Denver Broncos snagged Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch, their quarterback for the future.

Paxton Lynch was drafted with the 26th overall pick in the first round. The Broncos had to trade both their 31st overall pick and 3rd round pick in order to get him. Yet, John Elway and Gary Kubiak are both very excited and believe this move will pay its dividends in the years to come.

Lynch has traits that both Elway and Kubiak believe can make a franchise quarterback. Paxton is 6’7” and weighs in at 244 lbs. He is a big quarterback with a strong arm. For being that size, Lynch has a lot of speed and an ability to run with the ball. His combination of size, speed, and ability to throw will create chaos for opposing defensive coordinators.

Interestingly, he likes to emulate the playing style of Cam Newton. And look at what Cam did last season…at least until the Super Bowl. Paxton may turn out to be more pocket friendly than Newton, but having the ability to make a play on the ground when the air game needs a boost, has proven to be a huge motivator for an offense.

Many have described Lynch as being a developmental quarterback who will need to adapt his game to the NFL. But this true for all rookies. The players in the NFL are the best of the best. They are paid serious cash in order to be great. Every rookie has to adapt. But Lynch is in the perfect position to do so.

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Even though we may not get the opportunity to see Paxton play during this regular season, I want to take a closer look at him from his days in high school, to where he can take the Broncos in the future.

Paxton attended high school at Trinity Christian Academy in Deltona, FL. And he actually began his high school career playing running back, until he outgrew the position. From there, the high school transitioned him into quarterbacking a wing-T offense which is a combination of counter runs, misdirection hand offs to the wide receiver, and a quarterback who can throw on the run. But this offense might not have been best suited to Lynch, as he was unable to show his true potential.

Nearing the end of his career Lynch suffered a knee injury which took him out for the first half of his senior season. This setback deterred college scouts away from him as he was unable to show them his true potential in his senior season. Interested colleges were dropping like flies. Except for one. The University of Memphis never wavered.

Memphis had just hired a new head coach in Justin Fuente, who also coached Andy Dalton at TCU. In his first season, Justin had the task of improving the football program at Memphis, which had only four wins in the prior three seasons.

Memphis was a struggling program, but eventually Paxton Lynch would take them to another level.

He was redshirted as a freshman in 2012, which meant he was able to practice with the teams, but couldn’t play in games.

In 2013 he took over the Memphis offense. In that first season he passed for over 2,000 years and threw for nine touchdowns. But this was just the beginning of his development.

In 2014 he helped the Tigers win their first conference title since 1971. Memphis won 10 games that season. Keep in mind, they had only won four games the three prior seasons to his arrival. As a sophomore, Lynch completed for over 3,000 yards, 22 touchdowns, and ran for 13 touchdowns.

His last season before the draft is when Lynch truly came into his own. In 2015, Lynch threw for 3,778 yards and 28 touchdowns. He had a completion percentage of almost 67%, and led the Tigers to back-to-back bowl appearances.

The most important part about Lynch’s career in college was his development. In his freshman year Paxton threw just nine touchdowns to 10 interceptions. This ratio completely flipped going into his sophomore year as he threw for 22 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. In Lynch’s junior season he threw 28 touchdowns and with only four interceptions. This shows that he became more aware of the defense and began limiting his mistakes. That is phenomenal. And showing even more growth, he only ran for two touchdowns as opposed to 13 the year before. This shows that he was attempting to develop as more of a pocket passer.

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