AP

During his daily Senior Bowl press briefing Wednesday, Browns coach Hue Jackson told reporters that finding a quarterback is “imperative” for his team and promised that’s atop the team’s to-do list.

As for whether that quarterback will come atop the 2017 NFL Draft, Jackson said those discussions are really just beginning.

“I think you go through the process, and I know everybody doesn’t like me using that term,” Jackson said, per the Akron Beacon Journal. “I think you have to go through it and weigh what’s best. Who is the best player? We haven’t determined that. Is the best player a defensive end? Is it a quarterback? Is it a defensive back? I don’t know yet until you can evaluate them all and line them all up and see where they are and see what’s best.

“We all a know a quarterback is very important to our football team. But is he the best player? We’ve got to find that out. We need to put one on our team. We’re going to find one. I promise you guys that. We’re going to do that. I think that’s imperative. I think we all know that, and that’s what we’re going to accomplish.”

The Browns pick at No. 1 and No. 12 in the first round of this year’s draft, then hold three more picks between Nos. 33-65. Though Jackson said he “[could not] disagree” with the notion that a top NFL quarterback is more valuable than an elite defensive player, he said that “will be the debate” as the team narrows and finalizes its draft plans over the next three months.

As for now, he said everything is on the table — including pre-draft trades involving a veteran quarterback and/or the possibility the Browns end up packaging some of those picks to move up or even down.

“Everything for right now is going to be negotiable and talked about,” Jackson said. “Until we sit down and talk about where we are and what we’re trying to do, then will we know. We haven’t had those discussions. I think right now we’re just in the beginning phases of all of it. We’ve got a long way to go before we get to that decision.”