Fantasy Upside
John Elway is not ready to give up on his former No. 1 draft pick just yet. In three games last year, Paxton Lynch completed 49-of-83 passes for 497 yards and 2 TDs. He has a strong arm and has the WRs who can go deep in Emmanuel Sanders and rookie Courtland Sutton.
Fantasy Downside
Despite given the opportunity to be a starter in each of his first two seasons, Paxton Lynch faltered behind Trevor Siemian. The 24-year-old has thrown just 128 career passes in five contests.
Bottom Line
Case Keenum is the starter, so Lynch will spend the preseason battling Chad Kelly for the No. 2 spot. If Keenum doesn’t last the entire season, which is a real possibility, Lynch may be worth a midseason pickup, but only if the matchups are favorable.
Week 17 vs. Kansas City Chiefs
After battling shoulder and ankle injuries that have kept him out of action for most of season, Paxton Lynch will get a chance to show the Broncos what he can do. The second-year pro will likely be facing several backups, as the Chiefs have nothing to play for, already locked into the No. 4 playoff seed. While the matchup is good, there are plenty of better options to start for your fantasy QB.
Week 16 at Washington
In the only game started by Paxton Lynch this season at Oakland at the end of November, a conservative game plan resulted in the second-year pro throwing for just 41 yards on 9 completions. Before leaving with an ankle injury in the third quarter, he also ran for 17 yards on 2 carries, but was intercepted once and sacked 4 times. Even though they are out of the playoff picture as well, Washington’s defense has to be salivating at the chance to face Lynch at home on Christmas Eve. There is no scenario where he should be the QB of your fantasy team.
Week 12 at Oakland Raiders
Will a change in offensive coordinator and starting QB help the Broncos this week? Now that Mike McCoy has been replaced by QB coach Bill Musgrave, it’ll be up to Paxton Lynch and the rest of the team to show they can do better. Lynch injured his shoulder in the preseason and the team brought him back slowly to the playing field. In the three games he played in during his rookie campaign, he completed 59% of his passes for 497 yards, with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. While Lynch has a strong arm, several of his attempts were under 10 yards last year—which will likely be what we see from him on Sunday. Versus the Raiders at home earlier this season, Trevor Siemian threw for his season-low of 179 yards with 1 touchdown. Oakland allows over 250 passing yards per game, but with the bye weeks over, there has to be a better option than Lynch, especially with him seeing his first action of the season.
Fantasy Upside
Paxton Lynch played in three games as a rookie in 2016, completing 59 percent of his passes for 497 yards and two touchdowns. He is a former first round pick that the Broncos would like to get on the field to see what he can do. Paxton has great size at 6-foot-7 and a powerful arm he’s not afraid to use. If he does take the field during the regular season, he’ll be throwing to two great WRs in Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders.
Fantasy Downside
In two starts last season filling in for the injured Trevor Siemian, Lynch looked timid and was given a conservative game plan. In a Week 13 win at Jacksonville, Lynch threw for just 104 yards on 24 attempts, with his longest completion going for a meager 18 yards. Like Siemian, Lynch will be learning a new system under OC Mike McCoy.
2017 Bottom Line
Siemian won the starting nod heading in to the regular season, but the Broncos brass would really like to see Lynch take over the position at some point. The performance of the team during the first half of 2017 will dictate who the signal-caller will be down the stretch. Look for Siemian to be under center for the first half, with Lynch potentially taking over during the second half. Neither makes for a strong draft pick unless you’re in a two-quarterback league and can afford to ride out a true competition winner.
Week 14 at Tennessee
Facing a good Jaguars pass defense last Sunday, Paxton Lynch was not asked to do too much. He finished just 12-of-24 for 104 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions. It looks like the Broncos will again have the rookie under center on Sunday, with Trevor Siemian still nursing a sore foot. The Titans are No. 26 against the pass, but there has to be a better QB option for you at this important part of your fantasy season.
Week 13 at Jacksonville
With Trevor Siemian battling a foot injury, Paxton Lynch has been taking reps with the first team this week. There's a good chance the rookie will make his second start of the season, but he has a tough matchup against a solid Jacksonville pass defense. You're better off steering clear of a Denver QB this week.
Week 6 at San Diego
In his first NFL start, Paxton Lynch looked like a rookie QB. In addition to being sacked six times by the Atlanta defense, at least a couple of which he held on to the ball too long, he threw an interception and fumbled twice, both of which were recovered by Denver. His finishing line wasn’t that bad (23-of-35 for 235 yards with one TD), but the Broncos offense couldn’t get anything going until after the Falcons put the game away. Trevor Siemian is expected back under center in San Diego, relegating Lynch to backup duty.
Week 5 vs. Atlanta
Filling in for the injured Trevor Siemian last week at Tampa Bay, Paxton Lynch did a nice job of moving the Denver offense. He led a 16-play drive capped off by a short Brandon McManus field goal and another nine-play, 80-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders. Lynch finished an impressive 14-for-24 for 170 yards in his first regular season action. However, it looks like Siemian will be healthy enough to play at home on Sunday, relegating the rookie back to clipboard duty.
Fantasy Upside
The Broncos spent a No. 1 draft pick on Paxton Lynch and expect him to be the signal caller of the future. He’s a big QB at 6’7”, has a cannon arm and had a great college career with Memphis. Early on, he’s shown to be a steady worker and sound decision-making, enough so that he has a good chance of being the No. 2 QB on the depth chart heading in to the regular season.
Fantasy Downside
Paxton heads into the regular season likely behind Trevor Siemian, but definitely has the brightest future of the Broncos' QBs. Every day is a learning experience for him, with his reads, timing and mechanics.
Bottom Line
For at least the first couple months of the season expect to see the rookie carrying a clipboard and doing a lot more learning, before taking his first meaningful snaps. He’s not worth drafting (unless you’re in a keeper league and have the room), but if the Broncos season goes south like it did after the last time they won the Super Bowl, Paxton will definitely receive playing time in December or maybe even sooner.
