CARSON, Ca. -- Browns coach Hue Jackson preferred Carson Wentz over Jared Goff in the 2016 draft, league sources told cleveland.com.

When the Rams traded up to No. 1 in 2016 to draft Goff, everyone assumed that the Browns opted not to take Wentz at No. 2 because Jackson only had eyes for Goff.

Turns out that wasn't the case at all.

When Jackson and then assistant head coach/offense Pep Hamilton worked out Wentz privately before the draft, they were blown away -- and instantly sold on him as their quarterback of the future, the sources said.



They had sent Wentz a package of plays the day before, and when they put him on the board to diagram them, he had memorized everything -- something no one else they worked out privately was able to do, especially not so quickly.



Wentz's football acumen pushed him over the top into No. 1 status for them, the sources said. He already had all the physical tools, and Jackson wasn't scared off by him playing at North Dakota State, because he had coached Joe Flacco out of Delaware as a rookie.

Others assumed that Jackson was partial to Goff because he had coached at Cal and had the inside track to him. He also workout out Goff privately and spent extra time with him pre-draft. It behooved him not to show his hand so as to throw off other teams, the source said.

But Wentz was the real apple of his eye, the sources said.



Jackson was also the only NFL head coach to attend Wentz's Pro Day at North Dakota State because of a blizzard that kept most away. There, Jackson, Hamilton and Browns Vice President of Player Personnel Andrew Berry had an up-close and personal look at Wentz, and put him through the paces.

Hamilton, like he had done with Goff, squirted the ball with water and did other things to make sure he was right for the AFC North. His first throw of the wet ball was a duck, but he aced everything else about the workout.

So why didn't the Browns draft Wentz, who's in the running for NFL MVP and has the Eagles at 10-1 this season heading into today's game against the Seahawks?



As everyone knows by now, the Browns' front office had determined that Wentz wasn't going to be a top-20 quarterback, which Chief Strategy Officer Paul DePodesta revealed in an interview with ESPN Cleveland before the 2016 season.



"I think the hardest part, and where we have to stay the most disciplined, as much as you want a player, you can't invent him if he doesn't exist,'' DePodesta said. "In a given year, there may be two or three NFL-ready quarterbacks at the college level. In another year, there literally may be zero. There just may be not be anybody in that year who's good enough to be a top-20 quarterback in the NFL.



"Even though you have a desperate need for one, you have to resist the temptation of taking that guy just because you have a need if you don't believe he's one of those 20 guys at the end of the day. I think that's the hardest part, just maintaining your discipline because you have the need. That's what we did this year."

Of course, Wentz has climbed to No. 4 in the NFL this year with a 104.0 rating, and is showing flashes of being a superstar. He's thrown 28 touchdown passes against only five interceptions, and has dazzled the NFL with his ability to escape trouble and put the ball on the money.

One NFL personnel executive told cleveland.com early this season that when all is said and done, Wentz will be right up there with Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees. It was the same exec who told cleveland.com at the Senior Bowl in January of 2016 "if the Browns draft Carson Wentz they'll be set for the next 15 years.''

Of course, Goff has lived up to his No. 1 draft status this season too, heading into Sunday's game as the No. 8 overall QB with a 98.6 rating, and has the Rams at 8-3.

As for Wentz, sources said he felt the Browns were going to draft him because of how much Jackson liked him. The two developed a good working relationship before the 2016 draft, and Wentz thought he was coming to Cleveland.

Instead, the Browns traded the No. 2 overall pick to Philadelphia for a boatload of draft picks. So far, those picks have been used on Corey Coleman, right tackle Shon Coleman, quarterback Cody Kessler, receiver Ricardo Louis, safety Derrick Kindred, receiver Jordan Payton, offensive lineman Spencer Drango, Jabrill Peppers and DeShone Kizer.

They also still have an extra first-rounder in 2018 from the Texans and an extra second-rounder from the Eagles in 2018 from that original trade.

One source said the new Browns front office always intended to trade that No. 2 pick because they needed so many players, and that there was talk of it as early as January.

When the Browns played the Eagles in the 2016 opener -- a 29-10 beatdown by Philly -- Jackson felt he got a chilly reception before the game from Wentz because of the snub and the "not top 20" comment, sources said.

As for Hamilton, who doubled as the Browns' QB coach, he left Cleveland after the 2016 season and took over as Michigan's passing game coordinator, dismayed that the Browns were so far off on their QB evaluations that season, sources said.