When the Denver Broncos selected QB Paxton Lynch with the No. 26 pick in the draft last night, the Memphis quarterback felt that he was coming into a situation where he could play at a high level. The Broncos newest addition will compete with Mark Sanchez and possibly other candidates to be the starting QB of the defending world champions.

All offseason it looked like the Broncos would make a move for a veteran QB to come in and take the reigns. Trade talks with San Francisco over Colin Kaepernick heated and cooled on multiple occasions. Denver also made a late push for the recently not-so-happy Sam Bradford in Philadelphia. When it was all said and done, Lynch was the guy John Elway had his eye on, and it is Lynch who will be donning the orange and blue. What was it like to receive that phone call on draft night?

“It was honestly the greatest feeling,” Lynch said, according to a quote sheet released by the team. “I know the work I have put into this and all the stuff I have done going through this process and meeting all these people and talking to all these people. You just want to get picked and go to a team and get to work. This is a dream come true to me and the Denver Broncos organization is obviously one of the best in the league.”

Lynch is a smart kid. He realizes he is attempting to replace possibly the greatest quarterback in the history of the league, but coming out of college, it would be ludicrous to expect Peyton Manning-like production. Brock Osweiller sat for the majority of four seasons, which is likely not going to be the situation for Lynch. Lynch will have the opportunity to compete for the starting gig right out of the gate.

“Obviously I’m very excited and I understand the role that I have coming in,” Lynch said. “There have been a lot of great quarterbacks that have come through here Denver and a good one obviously last year with Peyton [Manning], so I know there are a lot of shoes to fill. But I’m glad I’m on a team now and I’m ready to get up there and get to work.”

The days of early round quarterbacks sitting for a few years to develop are long gone. Players like Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson, Andy Dalton, Derek Carr and even Robert Griffin III’s rookie success, set the bar for newly drafted quarterbacks. Sanchez is a veteran QB and could presumably win the starting job this year, but if Lynch wins it, the Broncos surrounding talent will put him in a position to succeed.

“I am obviously really excited,” Lynch said. “At Memphis, we had some good players that could make plays around me. Obviously watching the Broncos this year, Peyton had weapons all over the place. The way they worked for him and the way he worked for them was incredible to watch. They had weapons on the offensive side of the ball as well as the defensive side of the ball.”

Denver will have an improved offensive line in 2016 and a run game for the starting quarterback to lean on. Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders are one of the best receiving duos in the league and will be solid no matter who is under center for the Broncos.

Lynch is saying all the right things early on and seems like a player that is ready to work. Unlike Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, Lynch is going to a situation where the team is already built to win now. There will always be a learning curve and bumps along the road in the NFL, but Lynch has a lot of upside and the talent around him has him in a place to succeed.