Dallas Cowboys tried hard to draft Paxton Lynch as Tony Romo’s successor
Paxton Lynch could have been Tony Romo’s heir apparent.
The Dallas Cowboys made a hard push to get back into the first round to take the Memphis quarterback on Thursday night, but couldn’t close a deal with Seattle.
Owner Jerry Jones confirmed that the team wanted Lynch after the first round was completed.
The Denver Broncos ended up drafting Lynch with the 26th overall pick, aquiring it from Seattle for the 31st overall pick and a third rounder. Jones said the Cowboys would have been willing to sweeten their initial offer that would have trumped Denver’s had they known what it required.
“Frankly give Denver credit. I thought we had it done,” Jones said. “It was that close. It was a good idea. He is a top prospect. Probably the highest upside in the draft. Congratulations to Denver.
“In hindsight we would have sweetened the pot. But they didn’t radio us in and tell us what they were doing on the other side.”
The Cowboys could look to the middle rounds to find another developmental quarterback the next few days, but having a first-rounder would have been more attractive. A first-round pick is under team control for five years opposed to only four years in subsequent rounds.
Jones hinted that the Cowboys were willing to part ways with their second- and third-round picks to get back into the first round to take Lynch.
“It’s no secret what we’re trying to do,” Jones said. “We were paying two productive football players in my mind for the chance to develop a quarterback you didn’t want to see on the field for about three or four years. That’s hard. Everybody understands.
“But if you are a coach its hard to think about giving up a couple of players. That was a little bit of all of us. But at the end of the day he is a fine young man and he has got a chance as a prospect to be a top player in the league. I’m not ashamed to try to get it done.”
At the end of the day, the Cowboys felt Lynch had the tools and skill-set to develop into a franchise quarterback. They felt having Lynch be groomed under Romo’s tutelage would have made for a nice succession plan.
It simply wasn’t meant to be. But it’s a sign of just how serious the Cowboys are about finding a reliable replacement for Romo. Romo hasn’t started a full 16-game season since 2012. The 36-year-old has had multiple back surgeries and fractured his left collarbone twice last season.
Without Romo, three backups combined to go 1-11 a year ago.
Lynch threw for 3,776 yards last season with 28 touchdowns and four interceptions for the Tigers.
This story was originally published April 29, 2016 at 12:14 AM with the headline "Dallas Cowboys tried hard to draft Paxton Lynch as Tony Romo’s successor."