Jeff Legwold, ESPN Senior Writer 8y

Broncos must decide where Paxton Lynch fits on QB depth chart

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Denver Broncos went into Thursday night’s preseason finale against the Arizona Cardinals with a list of roster questions they hope to answer correctly in the coming days. And one of the biggest questions is whether or not they believe prized rookie quarterback Paxton Lynch has advanced far enough on the learning curve to be the team's No. 2 quarterback behind Trevor Siemian.

To that end, Broncos coach Gary Kubiak started Lynch against the Cardinals to "get him every rep possible'' and let Lynch go the distance in the game. Lynch finished 13-of-22 passing for 214 yards to go with two touchdowns and an interception.

“I know I was excited to get a chance to start and play the whole game," Lynch said. " … Even though it didn’t finish the way we would have liked, it felt good to play the whole game."

Lynch certainly got the night off to the start he wanted when wide receiver Jordan Taylor turned Lynch’s first pass attempt into a 57-yard catch-and-run touchdown. Lynch was also 5-of-5 passing for 87 yards on the Broncos’ 94-yard scoring drive in the third quarter.

On the flip side, Lynch tried to jam a pass to Taylor with just under six minutes left in the game, but it was intercepted by Cardinals linebacker Gabe Martin, who returned it 29 yards for a touchdown.

“That’s experience; they changed coverage up on him and he’s got to make a better decision with the ball," Kubiak said. “But he continues to make plays because of his ability, but it continues to be about consistency. But I think the strides he’s made since we got him have been very good and he’ll make some more."

“They just kind of loaded that side," Lynch said. “I should got off it a little quicker ... It was kind of getting late in the game so I probably forced it."

Lynch closed out the preseason having thrown the most passes (68) to go with the most completions (40), most passing yards (458) and most passing touchdowns (four) of the Broncos’ three quarterbacks. And while Siemian was the clear winner of the starting job -- Kubiak said “he’s earned the right to be our guy" -- the question is now about where Lynch will fit on the depth chart.

The Broncos must decide if the talent they’ve seen, with the arm strength and mobility he’s displayed at times, outweighs his inexperience playing under center and working against the more complicated defensive looks he would see in the regular season if he had to play as the team’s No. 2 quarterback. Asked following Thursday’s game if Lynch had showed him enough to be the Broncos’ backup, Kubiak would not commit to either a yes or a no in the postgame moment.

“We’ve got a lot of decisions to make," Kubiak said. “... It’s not about one spot, or what we’re going to do at one spot."

With the preseason now in the books, Lynch was asked what he believed still needed attention in his game as well as what he thought he did well in his appearances.

“I just think I need to be more consistent day in and day out, being a good player. I’ve kind of gone up and down, just learning everything," Lynch said. "So I think as time goes on, just be more consistent."

And as a highlight, he picked his opening touchdown pass of the preseason -- an 8-yarder to tight end John Phillips in the loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

“Scored a touchdown, my first NFL touchdown, that was a pretty special moment," Lynch said.

Lynch consistently said throughout the offseason program, into training camp and almost right until the time Kubiak named Siemian the starter, that he believed he had kept himself in the mix to be the starter. And Thursday night he said he’s “excited" for the regular season and believes he will be ready for whatever the Broncos have in store for him in the weeks and months to come.

“Like I said from the beginning, I’m just going to keep doing my job and whatever the team needs me to do," Lynch said. “I’m going to be ready for whatever they need me to do, whether that’s push Trevor or going into a game."

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