Rumor: Cleveland Browns want Mitchell Trubisky at No. 1

The Cleveland Browns are set to take a difference maker with the top pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. But that hasn’t cooled speculation about Mitchell Trubisky.

With only five days until the start of the 2017 NFL Draft, we are so deep into the draft’s silly season that it can be hard to see our hand in front of our face.

The silliness got dialed up to yet another level with the latest rumor, courtesy of cleveland.com, that the Browns are still considering the idea of selecting North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky with the No. 1 overall selection of the draft.

Mary Kay Cabot cites the always popular unnamed sources who are oh so sure that the Browns are poised to shock the league on Thursday night:

"The feeling on the part of the front office, sources say, is that the Browns are ready to draft their quarterback of the future and might not want to risk losing him if they try to trade up or hope he falls to them at No. 12. Sources have told cleveland.com that the 49ers also like Trubisky and might take him at No. 2. “Don’t be surprised,” said one."

Of course the Browns will fall all over themselves to select a quarterback who has made just 13 starts in college because, after all, they are the Browns.

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But for anyone who has been paying attention, the Browns are not in the business of doing those kind of moves anymore. Ever since executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown and Hue Jackson came on board, and co-owner Dee Haslam starting taking on a strong role, the philosophy has shifted toward Cleveland doing the type of moves that smart NFL teams do on a regular basis.

Which means the days of the Browns reaching for players or picking a player to create “buzz” are gone. And while there are many fans who want the Browns to select Trubisky because he grew up on Mentor rooting for the Browns, the team is not in a position to make draft selections based on geography.

As for the latest rumor, it could be that the Browns are floating the idea out there to see if a team is desperate enough to make a major deal to move up to No. 1. That has some appeal to it, but if the Browns trade out of the No. 1 slot it would almost certainly mean they would lose out on Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett – which would be a much bigger deal than missing out on Trubisky.

It is also quite possible that the source of the rumor is just tossing it out there because they know if they say the Browns are going to do something stupid, then the majority will nod their heads in agreement. And with the Jimmy Garoppolo trade rumors securely dead and buried, people need to find something else to pin on the Browns.

Those days are over – or at least they better be. And if the Browns truly do want Trubisky, or any of the available quarterbacks, they have the means to select Garrett at No. 1 and still find a way to get the quarterback they covet.

It is a point that Brown touched on this week during his pre-draft press conference, according to clevelandbrowns.com:

"“I talked about this before, and in particular last year, we felt like we needed to add a lot of young talent to the roster so that really drove a lot of the decisions last year. We do think we are positioned obviously very differently than where we were coming out of 2015 so the need to continue to acquiring high-value picks is less intense this year. We feel really good about having effectively two draft classes through the first two rounds and sitting at No. 65, as well. There will be a lot of good Cleveland Browns players coming off the board on Thursday and Friday night.”"

The first round of the 2017 NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday night at 8 p.m.

Next: Browns: Cornerback a priority in the draft?

Only five more days, Browns fans, until we can leave the silliness behind.

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The Browns are not drafting Mitchell Trubisky with the No. 1 pick

By Thomas Moore | Apr 22, 2017

The Cleveland Browns are set to take a difference maker with the top pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. But that hasn’t cooled speculation about Mitchell Trubisky.

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