Hasselbeck: Broncos QB Lynch needs to play more like Siemian

For now, Denver Broncos fans shouldn’t feel anxiety regarding former first-round pick and second-year quarterback Paxton Lynch.

It’s offseason workouts, ESPN NFL analyst Tim Hasselbeck told “Schlereth & Evans” last week.

“You can talk OTAs and minicamps all you want, but the first time anyone’s going to see it really is preseason,” Hasselbeck said, with “it” being Lynch’s ability to grasp the NFL game “from the shoulders up.”

Hasselbeck said Lynch’s physical abilities won’t be what keeps him from winning the starting job for the Broncos but rather if the young quarterback fails to undertake a “massive development” from running around making plays in college to “playing inside the structure” of an NFL offense.

“No matter how good guys are as athletes or what type of physical ability they have, you just look at the guys who have been the very best in the game at the position, they’re guys who are doing kind of from the shoulders up rather than just overpowering people physically,” Hasselbeck said.

It’s easy to feel impressed by a quarterback’s ability to throw in one-on-one or seven-on-seven drills, but they’ll struggle in they can’t call up the mental aspect of the position during game action.

“…When you don’t have a quarterback that can’t digest pre-snap what’s happening to make the defense play to stay on the field — whether it’s the four-minute offense or the two-minute, whatever it is — I think you’re going to have a really hard time being successful,” Hasselbeck said.

“Unless he can start playing more like Trevor Siemian, then I think the more Broncos fans should be concerned about with the future is for him as a starter.”

Last week, general manager John Elway said neither Siemian nor Lynch had inched forward in from the 50-50 benchmark, and the Broncos are fortunate to have two young quarterbacks who “can really play.”

“I think that with a new offense, Paxton and Trevor have both looked tremendous the first couple days. It’s been very encouraging with the way that they’ve both looked,” Elway said.

Offensive coordinator Mike McCoy said that all of the team’s quarterbacks need to work on learning and executing the team’s new system, and called Lynch “a very talented player.”

“He can make every throw that we’re asking him to make and that he needs to make to win a football game and move the ball up and down the field,” McCoy said. “He’s very athletic and you love his size with his ability to sit in the pocket and see the whole field. He’s just poised in the pocket and throw those comebacks and out-route effortlessly.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.