With the NFL Draft only a week away, former Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch has already inked a deal with Nike, according to reports.
Lynch is the first rookie in the 2016 class to sign a contract with Nike. The company says it will continue to announce new signees to the Nike Football family leading up to the draft April 28.
Lynch is expected to have his name called in the first round of the draft next Thursday. If he is taken in the first round, he will be the first Tiger drafted in the opening round since defensive tackle Dontari Poe went 11th overall to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2012.
According to mock drafts on NFL.com, Fox Sports and CBS Sports, Lynch is expected to be the third quarterback drafted, following North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz and California’s Jared Goff. Of those three sites, most mock drafts have the Memphis product going to the New York Jets with the 20th overall pick.
Lynch started three seasons for the Tigers and put forth his best campaign in 2015. The 6’7” quarterback threw for 3,776 yards, 28 touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 66.8 percent of his passes. Lynch put Memphis in the national conversation and put his own name on the draft boards when he led the Tigers to an 8-0 start to the season, including a 37-24 upset over then-No. 13 Ole Miss.
The first round of the NFL Draft will take place April 28 at 7 p.m. at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. If Lynch slips out of the first round, he will have to wait until the second and third rounds 6 p.m. Friday to find out where his NFL career will begin.
Former University of Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch in action during his time with the Blue and Gray.
