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QB Mitch Trubisky to enter NFL draft. Next stop Cleveland?

By Thomas Moore

Sep 3, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Mitch Trubisky (10) throws as Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Davin Bellamy (17) is upended behind him during the fourth quarter of the 2016 Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game at Georgia Dome. Georgia won 33-24. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 3, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Mitch Trubisky (10) throws as Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Davin Bellamy (17) is upended behind him during the fourth quarter of the 2016 Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game at Georgia Dome. Georgia won 33-24. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Cleveland Browns hold the top pick in the 2017 NFL Draft and may be tempted by North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky now that he is entering the draft.

North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky announced earlier today that he intends to enter the 2017 NFL Draft.

Trubisky, a native of Mentor in case you had not heard – revealed his intentions in a post at The Players’ Tribune that read, in part:

"After a lot of prayer and thought, I have decided to forgo my senior year and enter the NFL draft. This has been the most difficult decision I’ve ever had to make. But no matter what happens next, I know I’ll never experience something as special as being a Tar Heel."

It is the “no matter what happens next” part that should be interesting as the Cleveland Browns hold two selections early in the first round and are in need of a quarterback. Trubisky is the early leader among the draft glitterati as the “best quarterback prospect” among a group that includes Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, Notre Dame’s Deshone Kizer and Miami’s Brad Kaaya, among others.

Trubisky has also professed his love for the Browns, so there will be plenty of fans who will want the Browns to draft Trubisky and then portray his as the hometown hero who will save the franchise.

Putting geography aside for the moment, there is a lot to like about Trubisky, who threw for 3,468 yards, 28 touchdowns and four interceptions while completing almost 69 percent of his passes in his first season as a starter for the Tar Heels.

While Trubisky has the physical tools and the size (6-foot-3 and 220 pounds), there is the major issue with the fact that he is very limited when it comes to game experience. He only made 13 starts for the Tar Heels and this season was on the losing end of the biggest games on the schedule – Georgia, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State and Stanford.

Trubisky has also been compared by some analysts to Alex Smith (by NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks) and Trent Green (by Daniel Jeremiah). Smith and Green are nice quarterbacks, but hardly the type that would warrant the top overall pick in the draft.

And the top pick in the draft is where Trubisky may have to go if he is going to wind up in Cleveland.

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If the Browns go through the process and decide that they like what Trubisky has to offer, they very likely need to take him at No. 1 overall as the San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears and New York Jets all pick after the Browns and are just as desperate for a quarterback.

While it sounds like a fairy tale in the making, using the top pick in the draft on a quarterback with such limited experience may not have the happy ending that many assume.

We’re still a few months away from the actual draft, but the addition of Trubisky to the draft pool should make the coming draft talk all that much more interesting.

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