Broncos rookie quarterback Paxton Lynch met with the media Tuesday to talk about rookie camp and the offseason, and his expectations going into training camp starting Thursday. Here's the entire Q & A session with Lynch:
QUARTERBACK PAXTON LYNCH
On reporting to camp early
“I feel good. It feels good to be back in the building with all of the rookies, getting these two days before the vets get in and getting your wheels turning again and everything fired back up. I know I’m excited for the vets to get back in and to start camp.”
On getting all of the reps the past two days
“It’s pretty tough from a standpoint of conditioning because you’re taking every rep and you’re taking every drop back and every drill when it’s just individual stuff. In the long run, it helps you because you’re taking every rep and you’re getting that conditioning that you normally wouldn’t when those other guys are out here. It’s tough from the standpoint of that, but mentally getting those reps is really important.”
On areas where he has progressed
“Just how far that I’ve come mentally. When I first got here, it was kind of thrown at me and I was having trouble calling plays in the huddle. Now, I’m doing a lot better with that. Going out there, my footwork is where it needs to be. I still have a while to go with that, but from when I first got here until now, I’m very pleased with my progress.”
On comfort level with the playbook
“It’s not 100 percent, obviously because of the time that I’ve been here, but I’m more confident in myself in knowing the plays and playing a little bit faster than when I first arrived here.”
On labeling the playbook as a dictionary when he first arrived
“It’s getting its way down there, but it’s still pretty thick. Going over the days that we’ve already covered, it’s easier to pick up on instead of having to stare at it and study it for hours on hours. You look at it and remind yourself, ‘Oh, this guy’s got this.’”
On watching situational film from previous seasons
“We haven’t done much of that yet. With me, it’s mostly just been learning and trying to get caught up to where I need to be to play. I’m sure that will come more when we come to camp and closer to the season when we start watching game film on teams. I’m sure we’ll talk more about that, but recently it’s just been about playbook stuff.”
On the quarterback depth chart
“I definitely think I have an opportunity to better myself and put myself up in the position to play right away or sooner than I had thought. I knew [QB] Mark [Sanchez] and [QB] Trevor [Siemian] were going to be ahead of me because of their experience—Trevor with his experience in the offense and Mark with his experience in the league—and me being a rookie. This is the first time that I’ve seen a playbook like that, so I knew it was going to be tough and I knew I was going to be behind. The biggest thing for me is just staying confident in myself, keep my head up, keep pushing through and keep grinding. It’ll come to you eventually. From a competition standpoint, you’re not just going to say, ‘Yeah, I’ll take the back seat.’ It’s my job as a rookie to push those guys that are ahead of me however I can.”
On what he did during his time off
“I did a lot of football when I was home. I didn’t have receivers back where I was training in Orlando so I had my brother out there catching passes for me and watching my footwork. I had an opportunity to get to Memphis for a little over ten days and do a charity event there as well as work with [WR] Mose [Frazier] because he was in Memphis, too. I got a chance to work with Mose and some other receivers that were already at Memphis whenever they go their work done. They were out there and ran some routes for me.”
On competition with Sanchez and Siemian
“From what I hear it is the way the vets are in OTAs and what you do before camp is a little different from when they do get into camp because it’s time to lock in and take care of your business. My relationship with them so far has been good. They have been really helpful for me whenever I had bad practices or questions about something. They’ve always been there to help me.”
On why he likes Panthers QB Cam Newton
“Just his play style and how exciting he is to watch. What he can do on the field, throwing the ball as well as running the ball. His size—he’s just a massive player—especially at the quarterback position. I think it’s just exciting to watch a player that can do that, so I want to be a player that people want to watch and tune into because he’s an exciting player.”
On a sense of competition with other quarterbacks from his draft class
“You can say that because we’re in the same class together, but I’m pretty sure they’re just like me right now. They’re worried about what they got to do where they are with the Rams and the Eagles just like I’m worried about what’s going on in this building and this team. You see those guys on ESPN doing what they’re doing, but that’s different than what’s going on in the locker room. I’m just focused on what I’ve got to focus on here.”
On his comfort in the huddle
“It’s getting there to where I’m comfortable in the huddle, but I’m not to that point just yet because all of my college career was mostly no-huddle stuff. Being in the huddle is somewhat new to me so when you only get a couple of weeks of it or a month of being in the huddle, you’re not going to have it down like the back of your hand. It’s definitely coming to me and I feel that I’m improving on it week to week.”
On the most difficult throw to make
“Crossing patterns to me are the hardest thing when it’s going right to left. I just think it’s hard to throw this way and lead the guy.”