Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch is drawing significant attention from NFL scouts, and after a 37-24 upset of Ole Miss last week, it should only increase for the balance of the season. If NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah is on target with a comparison he made Friday on The Rich Eisen Show, Lynch should be at least as good a pro quarterback as Ryan Mallett was expected to be when he entered the league.
"He's DirecTV Ryan Mallett versus cable Ryan Mallett," Jeremiah said, referring to the popular series of DirecTV advertisements panning cable companies.
Lynch (6-foot-7, 245 pounds) is passing for 338 yards per game this season, and has thrown 17 touchdown passes to only one interception for a 7-0 Memphis team that could be the Group of Five representative in one of the "New Year's Six" bowls. An NFC scout told recently NFL Media's Lance Zierlein that Lynch "has a chance to be big time."
Jeremiah, a former NFL scout, said he has only begun evaluating Lynch with a look at his performance earlier this season against Bowling Green. As a fourth-year junior, Lynch could apply for early draft eligibility next year, or wait until 2017.
"I want to see more of Paxton Lynch. Look, (Cal's) Jared Goff, what he's playing behind offensive line-wise is no good. I think those two guys to me are intriguing," Jeremiah said when asked if the 2016 NFL Draft could have a quarterback capable of turning around a franchise. "They could be that guy."
So far this season, scouts are seeing nothing but DirecTV Lynch.
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