Werder: Wouldn’t ‘give up’ on Lynch after losing Broncos QB battle

Aug 24, 2017, 12:00 AM Updated: 11:54 am

Quarterback Paxton Lynch #12 of the Denver Broncos warms up before the game against the Houston Texans at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on October 24, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

(Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

When the Dallas Cowboys settled for Dak Prescott in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, according to Ed Werder, the team’s top three quarterbacks on the board were Jared Goff, Carson Wentz, and Paxton Lynch — the latter whom the Denver Broncos moved up to pick in the first round.

The former ESPN NFL reporter told “Schlereth & Evans” on Wednesday that the Cowboys saw Wentz as the most pro-ready quarterback — which the Day f1-starter proved to be true — but Lynch with the most upside.

“They saw Paxton Lynch as the guy who had the most upside of those top three quarterbacks but also as the guy who was going to require the most amount of time developmentally to achieve what his physical skill set was capable of,” Werder said.

And because of that raw, untapped talent the Broncos drafted No. 26 overall, Werder said he wouldn’t dump Lynch so quickly, despite losing this preseason’s quarterback competition to Trevor Siemian.

“I wouldn’t totally give up on Paxton Lynch because of that failure,” Werder said. “As I pointed out on Twitter, Aaron Rodgers and Tony Romo have had great careers and neither one of them started a single game their first three seasons in the NFL.”

It is worth nothing that @AaronRodgers12 and @tonyromo didn’t start a single game until 4th NFL seasons. Lynch, though, did have better opp https://t.co/8xpjoQdU7x

— Ed Werder (@EdwerderRFA) August 22, 2017

Broncos head coach Vance Joseph, after officially naming Siemian the starter moving forward on Monday, also invoked the Aaron Rodgers-Brett Favre situation when talking about Lynch.

“We’re playing Green Bay this week and Aaron Rodgers didn’t play for a long time. Now, it’s behind Favre, a real guy like that (but) I don’t believe that,” Joseph said when asked if there are expectations for Lynch to start because he’s a first-round draft pick.

“He is a guy with rare talent, and with time, he will be a good quarterback. But right now, I think Trevor is the best guy for our team.”

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