Five quarterbacks went in the first round of this year’s draft and 13 quarterbacks were chosen over the entire three-day affair, but none of them were former Michigan Wolverine John O’Korn.
O’Korn called himself the “the most NFL-ready quarterback in terms of “knowing what to do on a day-to-day basis, game-planning” because of his experience playing in pro style offense under former NFL head coach Jim Harbaugh in Ann Arbor. That didn’t convince any teams to pick him, but O’Korn will get a chance to convince the Lions that he’s worth keeping on the roster.
Avery Williamson plays with speed and, most of the time, discipline. He does it so well, in fact, that the Jets guaranteed him $16 million in free agency, which is why the Titans had to draft Rashaan Evans in this year’s first round. Zach Mettenberger got a better chance than most sixth-round quarterbacks get. Head coach Ken Whisenhunt made him the starter in Weeks 8-14 in 201Mettenberger also started four games in 2015. In the end, he validated the suspicion that arm strength alone can’t make a QB.
Part of the reason, General Manager John Elway said, is because the Broncos aren’t ready to give up on Paxton Lynch.
“We are not kicking him to the curb,’’ Elway said, via Mike Klis of Denver’s 9News. “He can still develop. When we drafted him two years ago, as I said, we knew it was going to take some time.
“Paxton is going to compete with Chad [Kelly] for that backup spot. We are not going to bring another one in for OTAs. We will take a peek at that. It will be those two and Case [Keenum]. We are going to OTAs with those guys and go from there.”
Lynch and Kelly will compete for the backup job behind Keenum, who signed a two-year, $36 million contract last month. Lynch, the 26th overall choice in 2016, has gone 1-3 in four starts with four touchdowns and four interceptions.