Everyone thinks the Browns will take Texas A&M pass rusher Myles Garrett with the first overall pick in the draft on Thursday night, but maybe everyone is wrong.
Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com reports that North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is still under serious consideration by the Browns with their top pick.
There’s also been talk that the Brows could draft Garrett first and then try to move up from their second first-round pick, No. 12 overall, and grab Trubisky in the Top 10. The problem is there’s no guarantee he’ll be there. Projections on Trubisky have been all over the map, but some people think the 49ers could take him second overall, which would mean the Browns can only get him if they take him first.
The dilemma for the Browns could be that they think Garrett is the best player in the draft but Trubisky is the best quarterback, and then they have to weigh whether it’s better to use the first pick on the most important position, or on the best player regardless of position.
The Browns could also take Garrett first overall and then take whoever the best quarterback on the board is at 12, whether that’s Trubisky, Clemson’s Deshaun Watson or Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes. But if the Browns think Trubisky is the best quarterback in the draft, it seems odd that they’d settle for their No. 2 or No. 3 quarterback.
There have also been reports, denied by the Browns, of a rift in the front office, with head coach Hue Jackson wanting Garrett but Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta wanting Trubisky. It would be strange, to say the least, for the Browns to hire a head coach with a good track record for developing quarterbacks in Jackson, then use the first overall pick in the draft on a quarterback Jackson doesn’t think they should take.
It’s also possible that what the Browns really want is to trade down, and they’re feigning interest in Trubisky to make any other team that wants him think it would need to trade up to No. 1 to get him.
The Browns have said they won’t announce their pick until they’re on the clock. So we’ll find out on Thursday night.