On Wednesday, scouts, talent evaluators and front office personnel from the NFL will descend upon the Billy J. Murphy Athletic Complex to watch former University of Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch perform a series of workouts at the Tigers’ pro day.
Lynch is projected by most draft experts to be a first round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, and pro day is an opportunity for the former Tigers quarterback to solidify his draft status.
Nine of his former teammates will join Lynch at Memphis’ pro day – wide receivers Mose Frazier, Tevin Jones and Isaiah Farris, tight end Allen Cross, offensive linemen Taylor Fallin and Ryan Mack, linebackers Wynton McManis and Leonard Pegues and defensive back Bakari Hollier.
Fallin, a 6-foot-6, 330-pound offensive lineman, who is expected to move from left tackle to either right tackle or guard to make himself more marketable to teams, is projected by some to be a day three selection, or between rounds 4-7.
As for Lynch, he remains the third quarterback selected in most mock drafts behind North Dakota State’s Carson Wentz and California’s Jared Goff – both of whom are projected to go anywhere from the No. 2 pick held by the Cleveland Browns to the No. 8 pick held by the San Francisco 49ers.
Lynch, however, is projected to go anywhere between pick No. 8 held by the Philadelphia Eagles to pick No. 31 held by the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos to not being selected in the first round in ESPN’s Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft.
There is a trend developing among those who mock the NFL Draft, though. The same teams are popping up over and over again as one who could potentially select Lynch.
Those teams are the Los Angeles Rams at pick No. 15, the New York Jets at pick No. 20 and the Broncos at pick No. 31 – all of which make sense on some level.
The Rams recently relocated from St. Louis to Los Angeles, and could be looking for a young quarterback to bring with them. Last year’s starter, Nick Foles, underwhelmed after throwing more interceptions than touchdowns.
Lynch would have the luxury of having Todd Gurley, the Rams 2015 first-round pick, who rushed for more than 1,100 yards and 10 touchdowns in just 13 games, in the backfield and speedster wide receiver Tavon Austin to throw to on the outside.
The Jets currently have two quarterbacks on the roster, Geno Smith, who has not lived up to his first-round selection in 2013 and last season’s fourth-round pick Bryce Petty, so they do not have a definite day-one starter next season.
Jets’ coach Todd Bowles is known for his defensive prowess, and year-in-and-year-out the Jets have had one of the best defenses in the NFL. The team has a good set of offensive weapons, adding Matt Forte in the offseason to go along with their two-headed receiving monster – Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker. Lynch would not be asked to do too much right away, and it could be a perfect scenario for him to ease his way into the NFL. Then again, he would have to deal with the infamous New York media.
Lynch ending up with the Denver Broncos would be nothing short of an ideal scenario for him.
Much like the Jets, the Broncos boast one of the best, if not the best, defenses in the NFL, and on top of that, they’re loaded at the skill position with guys like running back C.J. Anderson and wide receivers Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders.
The Broncos won the Super Bowl with Peyton Manning, but Manning’s age and decline in health made him little more than a game manager. The roster is loaded, and Lynch could step right in and not be asked to do too much as a rookie other than not make too many mistakes and get the ball to their talented skill position players, like Manning last season.
University of Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch in action during the 2014 season. Lynch will throw at Memphis' pro day Wednesday.
