Tim Tebow and Paxton Lynch show the risk of first-round QBs

Full disclosure: I think the Broncos should have drafted Justin Fields. Given the alternative is a battle between Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater, a couple of guys that would start for zero other teams in the NFL, a young rookie prospect inspires excitement and hope.

Nothing gets a franchise reenergized like drafting a quarterback in the first round. While exciting, a first-round quarterback can also crash and burn very quickly.

The recent stories of Tim Tebow and Paxton Lynch are a sobering reality that the Broncos have attempted to find their quarterback of the future in the first round and failed in their evaluations.

Tebow and Lynch are still in the headlines and neither is for being a Broncos quarterback. Tebow has returned to the NFL as a tight end as it appears, he missed the spotlight. Lynch, meanwhile, is on his way to Canada to play QB north of the border.

Bottom line, neither Tebow nor Lynch are NFL quarterbacks.

Tebow contributed to one of the most-memorable seasons in Broncos history. Despite the fact that he couldn’t throw the football, Tebow managed to take over a 1-4 Broncos team and lead them to the playoffs. Not only did Tebow lead the Broncos to the playoffs, they won a playoff game in dramatic fashion.

As fun as it was, the clock was always ticking on Tebow. The Tebow offense in Denver was a gimmick with an expiration date.

The Broncos knew that Tebow’s usefulness had come to end. And The Broncos made the unbelievably smart decision to pursue Peyton Manning.

After his inexplicable success in 2011, Tebow never caught on as an NFL quarterback and after one season with the Jets and failed tryouts with the Patriots and Eagles, Tebow was out of the NFL.

Winning a playoff game is more than most quarterbacks get in the NFL, but it was also unsustainable. Tebow only lasted three seasons in the NFL.

Tebow is now back in the NFL, almost a decade later, to try out at tight end. The fact that Tebow even has this opportunity is a bit puzzling, but the larger view is that Tebow was never going to last in the NFL as a quarterback.

Paxton Lynch was the Broncos first-round draft pick in 2016. Expectations were high as the Broncos were coming off a Super Bowl victory and Peyton Manning had just retired. The Broncos traded up to draft Lynch as the heir apparent to Manning.

The results were a disaster.

Lynch had a decent game against the Buccaneers his rookie season in relief of starter Trevor Siemian. After that, Lynch looked lost and incapable as an NFL quarterback.

After two seasons as a Broncos backup and occasional starter, the team released Lynch prior to his third season. Lynch was able to hang around the NFL on the Steelers practice squad for one season is has been out of the NFL for two years.

Thus far, Lynch has been the definition of a bust. The Broncos walked away empty handed with Lynch.

As gifted as Lynch was physically, he could never make that transition to the NFL. The domino effect from drafting Lynch has consequences the Broncos are still dealing with to this day.

The current Broncos need better quarterback play. Many in Broncos Country, myself included, wanted the Broncos to draft Fields in hopes he’s the quarterback of the future. Lock or Bridgewater are almost a guarantee the Broncos will be in the bottom five in quarterback production in 2021.

When you look at the Broncos recent history with quarterbacks they’ve drafted in the first round, we are reminded that it can end badly.

Tim Tebow is returning to the NFL eight seasons after he last played to try a different position. Tebow is such a bad quarterback the only way they’d let him back in was if he agreed to not play quarterback.

Paxton Lynch has signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. Lynch looks to repair his reputation as a guy that had all the talent but didn’t love football.

With one trying out as a long shot at tight end and the other currently trying to resurrect his career in Canada, it can be said the Broncos have failed miserably at attempting to find their quarterback of the future through the draft.

People like myself are currently very upset at George Paton’s decision to pass on Fields, and it is justified given the alternative is Lock or Bridgewater. However, Tebow and Lynch are evidence that a quarterback in the first round is no guarantee. Neither player made it past two seasons in Denver. Both have become punchlines amongst Broncos fans.

Sometimes, teams go all in and draft a quarterback like Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes or Justin Herbert and works out amazingly for the franchise. On the flip side, as recent new suggests, teams go all in and the quarterback ends up in Canada or switching positions well into their 30s.

Point is, we need to actually let this play out, because drafting a quarterback in the first round is high risk and high reward.