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Former Memphis QB Paxton Lynch has all the measurables to be a fine NFL quarterback. He’s 6-foot-7, 244 pounds and can make plays on his feet.
He certainly showed off his potential in Memphis’ 37-24 win over Ole Miss this past season, going 39 of 53 for 384 yards, 3 TDs and an interception.
CBS Sports has Lynch projected as the third-best QB in this year’s NFL Draft and potentially being a first-round pick. However, ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay pumped the brakes a little on the hype surrounding Lynch in speaking with NJ.com.
“He has all the physical ability in the world. He’s just coming from an offense that is very simplistic,” McShay said. “He’s got to learn how to get his team in and out of a huddle, and how to make line checks, and pre-snap audibles, and get them out of bad plays into good plays. He hasn’t had to do any of those things … Teams have gotten him on the board, and he has not performed very well, and so there’s concern. So he’s a long-term developmental project, a lot like a Brock Osweiler. But I think he’s less polished than Osweiler when he was coming out of Arizona State.”
That assessment didn’t sit well with Lynch’s representative, Leigh Steinberg, a well-known NFL agent who is said to be the inspiration for Jerry Maguire.
He sent out a few tweets about McShay and fellow ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper on Thursday night.
#NFLDraft Everyone entitled to opinion,but Todd McShay's vitriolic assessment of @PaxtonLynch's ability is absurd.Doesn't work for a team!
— Leigh Steinberg (@leighsteinberg) April 21, 2016
#NFLDraft Hope public knows that Todd McShay,self-proclaimed draft guru never played,coached,scouted in college or NFL.@ESPN @PaxtonLynch
— Leigh Steinberg (@leighsteinberg) April 21, 2016
#NFLDraft Everyone is entitled to their opinion,I regret responding to McShay's toxic assessment of Paxton by bringing up his background.
— Leigh Steinberg (@leighsteinberg) April 22, 2016
While McShay doesn’t have Lynch going in the first round of his latest mock draft, Kiper has him going with the 29th overall pick to the Arizona Cardinals.
The NFL Draft is less than a week away, beginning this Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Born and raised in Gainesville, Talal joined SDS in 2015 after spending 2 years in Bristol as an ESPN researcher. Previously, Talal worked at The Gainesville Sun.
