Are the Broncos really going to go all-in on Paxton Lynch?
When it comes to having an eventful offseason, no team can beat the Denver Broncos.
John Elway's team has celebrated a Super Bowl victory, lost quarterback Peyton Manning to retirement, lost his heir apparent, Brock Osweiler, to a big, fat stack of Houston Texans cash, and then embroiled itself in a bizarre, on-and-off trade saga with 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (as if anything relating to the 49ers or Kaepernick could be straightforward) which, for all we know, might still be ongoing.
Oh, and the Broncos also traded for Mark Sanchez — you know, the butt fumble guy.
As of Saturday, Sanchez is the starting quarterback for the defending Super Bowl champions, unless he loses the job to the only other quarterback on the roster, Trevor Siemian (who, I assure you, is an NFL player.)
The Broncos, who have been two steps behind on everything relating to the most important position on the field this offseason, have put themselves in a desperate situation: They need to get another quarterback, at the very least to backup Sanchez, and they need to get him ASAP.
The Broncos did bring in former Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer (who was cut to make room for Osweiler in Houston) for a visit, but that doesn't help the team's short- or long-term goals.
Lynch is an interesting prospect — for a moment in the fall, he was considered the top quarterback prospect in this year's draft class — but his star fell a bit over the last few months.
The Broncos have been linked to Lynch since before Manning retired, as he was likely to be available for them at pick No. 31.
Picking up Lynch there made sense for the Broncos — they were landing a quarterback who might be the best in this draft without having to pay anything extra. Regardless of whether he started from the jump, that's a good value.
The opinions on Lynch might not have changed much in recent months, but his value has increased tremendously in the past week, as both of the consensus top quarterbacks in the draft, Jared Goff and Carson Wentz, are near certain to go No. 1 and No. 2 to the Rams and Eagles following those teams' trades to move into the top two spots.
Lynch more or less rests in a second-tier by himself in this quarterback class, as Michigan State product Connor Cook is a polarizing prospect who is probably best suited as the top option of the third tier.
But while Lynch might be second-tier, for 30 teams in this upcoming draft, he's the best quarterback they can get. If the Broncos are still planning on standing pat and landing the Memphis QB at No. 31, they're going to end up disappointed.
The Jets, Cardinals, and Chiefs have all been tied to Lynch in the first round in the past week, which means if the Broncos want to be assured they're going to get their man, they're going to have to trade up Thursday.
And the Broncos are probably going to have to pay a steep price. To jump above the Jets at pick No. 20, Denver — according to the NFL Draft trade value chart — would need to give up a first-round pick, two third-round picks and a fifth-round pick, just to come close.
That's at least three top-100 picks. Lynch was a nice failsafe plan, but is he still an attractive option if the Broncos have to give up the vast majority (if not all) of all of their collateral in the first two days of the draft to get him?
At this point, they might not have much of a choice.
