Broncos Lynch 2-4 years from playing good QB, says Klatt, Dilfer

The question many anticipate the Denver Broncos brass to ask its head coaching candidates is how will they develop and utilize 2016 first-round draft pick Paxton Lynch.

The reasoning is Lynch, by most accounts, is the quarterback of the future for the orange and blue and thus should be factored into the process of hiring of the club’s next head coach.

However, two football analysts told “Schlereth and Evans” last week that molding Lynch from a spread offense college quarterback into an NFL-caliber gunslinger will be a “long process.”

On Wednesday, Fox Sports football analyst Joel Klatt called Lynch’s learning curve in transitioning to the pro game “incredibly steep” due to two factors: reading progressions and learning the language of the offense.

At Memphis, Klatt said, Lynch ran an offense where he was given “pre-snap determinations” of where to throw the ball, and thus not many decisions were made by the quarterback on the field.

ESPN NFL analyst Trent Dilfer said Thursday that Lynch has what he calls “slow eyes,” wherein the quarterback determines he wasn’t throwing to the primary receiver, takes his gaze elsewhere, and resets his body to throw.

“Many times these guys’ arms are starting as their eyes are getting from one progression to the next,” Dilfer said.

Klatt also said that it’s not only tough enough to learn the schematics of an NFL playbook but the language that is attached to it, which changes from offense to offense, makes it a “monumentally steep learning curve” for young quarterbacks like Lynch.

“I think he’s a nice prospect, a very talented kid. I think it’s going to be a long process,” Dilfer said of Lynch’s development. “I don’t think this is, ‘Hey, with an offseason of work, you put Paxton in next year and all of a sudden all of your quarterback problems go away.’”

Klatt put Lynch’s development into “playing really good football” at a minimum of three years, if not four, and called for the Broncos to pick up a game-ready quarterback to keep its championship prospects alive.

“That (championship) window is open for Denver because of the defense, so why are we concerned about developing Paxton Lynch? The future is the future. Whatever’s going to happen is what’s going to happen,” Klatt said. “… I would be trying to get (New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy) Garoppolo or (Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony) Romo and respecting the championship window and going forward that way.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.