North Carolina Tar Heels: Avoid the Trubisky Smokescreen
The North Carolina Tar Heels prize NFL prospect Mitch Trubisky should go top five, but don’t believe the people saying he might go number one.
The highest rated member of the North Carolina Tar Heels in the upcoming draft is not Justin Jackson. That is because the next draft is the NFL Draft. There is a top ten or even top five prospect in that draft from the Tar Heels though. That would be quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Trubisky has been a favorite of the mock drafters, they have had him going just about everywhere. 49ers, Bears, or Browns have all seen their names attached to him.
However there is a reluctance to say that he would be the first pick in the draft overall. That is because most of the football world has been in love with Myles Garrett out of Texas A&M. The monster pass rusher is a freakish athletic talent that can’t be denied. This makes him a player in the vein of Julius Peppers or Jadaveon Clowney to the draft people.
It is the consensus on Garrett that makes the latest stories coming out of NFL sources ring a little hollow to me. ESPN is reporting that the Browns are considering either Garrett or Trubisky with the first pick. I rarely watch ESPN First Take, but the gym’s cardio room doesn’t give me many options. On that program, the info bubbles referenced an NFL person who said not to be surprised if the Browns did not draft Garrett.
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I can’t buy it and I like Trubisky as much as the next Tar Heels fan. This all feels like smokescreen in an attempt to drive down Garrett’s asking price a little bit. Remember that the team with the first pick can engage in contract negotiations before the draft. It was this feature that alerted us to the idea that the Houston Texans were going to draft NC State’s Mario Williams instead of Reggie Bush, Vince Young, or even Matt Leinart.
That 2006 draft should also give us a clue as what will happen here. The Texans were in a spot where they could have drafted either Young, Leinart, or Jay Cutler and felt comfortable at quarterback for the next three seasons (until that illusion would be ended). Or they could keep beat up but still salvageable (so we thought) David Carr and improve their defense with a major find instead.
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Cleveland has a bit more flexibility than this because they own the first pick in the draft and the twelfth pick. They can get a crazy looking end and a quarterback. It might not be Trubisky at twelve, but it could be Deshaun Watson or Pat Mahomes.
The Browns also want someone to give them the Godfather deal for the first pick. The more players they target, the more teams may feel desperate enough to jump up to the first pick. Most teams know Garrett won’t be there at the two spot. Trubisky is on more teams’ boards as a realistic selection at two, or five, or even ten. These teams could be shocked out of complacence to learn he could go number one. Better call that phone, right?
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Trubisky will be the highest profile Tar Heel quarterback ever drafted. Just don’t expect it to be number one overall, because that is all just mind games.