NFL Draft 2017: Mitch Trubisky could be selected first overall

With just a few hours to go before the NFL Draft, rumors have started to swirl that the Cleveland Browns could select North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky with the first overall pick. It’s a bit of a change from recent days where Trubisky was believed to be an option for the Browns’ second pick in the first round.

The speculation largely began yesterday when ESPN’s Adam Schefter released a video about the rumblings he’d been hearing on Trubisky going in the top spot. Schefter doesn’t think the Browns are likely to try and trade up with their 12th overall selection to try and get Trubisky earlier with their second pick, and said he continued to hear Trubisky was “square in consideration” to be the top pick.

Schefter’s speculation was rooted more firmly today when ESPN analysts Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay put Trubisky first overall in their latest mock drafts. Kiper says that the Browns are nervous about Trubisky not being available when they select again at no. 12, and don’t want to potentially lose out on the opportunity to bring in a franchise quarterback.

Defensive end Myles Garrett out of Texas A&M had been the trendy top pick up until this point. Many analysts believed that Cleveland would select Garrett before circling back to Trubisky if he was still on the board at no. 12, or that the team would trade up in order to try and select Trubisky earlier.

Cleveland obviously believes that Trubisky could be their difference maker for the future, and Trubisky is an Ohio kid who wants to go home and help his favorite team. The pairing couldn’t be much better. There will inevitably be a lot of hot takes on the internet if the Browns do select Trubisky first overall, but the match does feel almost inevitable in some way.

Trubisky would, of course, be the first Tar Heel selected with the first overall pick in the NFL Draft. That would be great news for a program that is really trying to grow its presence in the college football realm. How Trubisky does in the NFL will obviously come into play, but seeing a Tar Heel selected with the first overall pick would be a great step forward for the program as a whole.