2016 NFL Draft: early look at Memphis’ Paxton Lynch
By Jon Dove
Memphis has been one of the great stories of the college football season and has a legitimate chance to make a major bowl appearance. Their success has a lot to do with good coaching, but quarterback Paxton Lynch has been equally as important.
Lynch features excellent size and solid athleticism for the quarterback position. He’s a proven winner who steps up his game in pressure situations. His poise and leadership ability played a big role in the team’s ability to knock off Ole Miss.
This is an upside prospect who will need time to adjust to the NFL game and will benefit from more specialized coaching. He’ll be on the radar as a mid-round pick thanks to his size, solid arm strength and winning mentality.
Lynch is also a savvy quarterback who can deliver the ball in an unorthodox way. This clip shows him recognizing that he needed to loft the over the linebacker to complete the pass:
However, there are several areas of his game that need major improvement. Lynch is inconsistent with this throwing motion and footwork. This impacts his accuracy and ball placement. He won’t be able overcome this issue in the NFL because the defensive backs at that level are better at taking advantage of poorly placed balls.
This clip shows Lynch failing to set his feet on a key 3rd and 2 play which resulted in an incompletion:
Another area where Lynch needs improvement is with his anticipation. At this point, he’s more of a see-it throw-it quarterback who waits for his target to flash open. There have been plenty of situations where Memphis receivers weren’t provided an opportunity to catch the ball in stride.
It’s important to note that Lynch has the natural ability to develop into a good NFL starter. He needs to land in a situation where he’ll be able to sit behind an aging starter and learn the position. Unfortunately, this train of thought goes against the current thinking in the NFL.
Current Draft Position: Early 3rd Round