For weeks now we have been lamenting the fact that there just wasn’t any buzz at all surrounding the 2017 draft. However, with 15 days to go, things may be starting to percolate, although one always has to bear in mind that this is the season of smoke and mirrors. And the growing buzz starts in Cleveland where ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that the Browns, who hold the #1 pick overall at this month’s draft, are ‘split’ on whether to select Texas A&M DE Myles Garrett or North Carolina QB Mitch Trubisky. It’s not totally clear what is going there, but there has been speculation that the Browns would actually like to get both guys: Garrett is the top overall prospect with the potential to be a real impact player at the next level, while Trubisky has emerged as the clear front runner at QB – and hails from the Cleveland area to boot. And of course the Browns are desperate to finally find an elite QB who can lead them out of the proverbial football wilderness. In fact, at one point earlier in the process, there was some speculation that the Browns might try and double up at the top of the board by trying to acquire the 2nd pick from San Francisco with a package that would obviously include the 12th pick, although that hasn’t been the Browns MO in recent years in which they have stockpiled extra picks like packrats. At the same time, though, there is also some speculation that the Browns may be floating the possibility of taking Trubisky to try and generate some trade interest in the #1 pick; certainly, the Browns have not been shy about trading down under their new regime the past couple of years, although at some point one has to start to cash in those chips.
Certainly, one element adding to the intrigue surrounding the upcoming draft is the sense that this year’s top QBs are growing on people around the league. As noted, Trubisky has emerged as the top rated passer is this year’s draft class with top 5 potential, while it also appears that one or both of Patrick Mahomes of Texas Tech and Clemson’s Deshaun Watson have also convinced a lot of teams they have legit top 10 potential. At the same time, along with the Browns, there are a bunch of teams with early picks looking at QBs including the 49ers at #2, the Jets at #6, the Chargers at #7, the Bills at #10, the Saints at #11, and Cardinals at #13. Buffalo, for example, had a full contingent, including team owner Terry Pegula, at Texas Tech this week for a private work out with Mahomes, while Arizona reportedly wined and dined Trubisky this week during a pre-draft visit. Bottom line right now is that there are more teams chasing QBs than the number of QBs available which suggests that the former may have to move to get one of the latter if that is indeed there goal. Stay tuned!