INDIANAPOLIS - The Browns are strongly considering drafting hometown boy Mitch Trubisky No. 1 overall, league sources tell cleveland.com.

Trubisky, the Mentor, Ohio, native, checked off one of Hue Jackson's major boxes Thursday when he measured 6-foot-2 1/8 at the NFL Combine.

One top NFL personnel executive told cleveland.com Thursday that he'd definitely take Trubisky No. 1 now that he measured over 6-1. "He's got size,

he can move, he sees the field, has a big arm and more upside than Carson Wentz last year. They'd be set,'' he said.

Scouts had told NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock that Trubisky would be closer to 6-1 than the 6-3 he's listed at in his North Carolina bio.

Most draft experts, including Jackson's good friend Mike Silver of NFL Network, have the Browns taking Texas A&M pass-rusher Myles Garrett No. 1 overall, but that's not a lock.

"I'm almost positive that they'll do the no-brainer thing at No. 1 and take Myles Garrett, the very talented pass rusher out of Texas A&M,'' Silver said on NFL Network Wednesday. "It's early in the Combine, but the more I talk to talent evaluators that I respect, the more that I realize this is even more of a slam dunk in those people's minds than Jadeveon Clowney a few years back. They're thinking this is a generational pass rusher that has so much talent off the edge.

"Not only is he the clearcut choice at No. 1, but there is no obvious No. 2 sitting there. It's a draft where people think 2 and 25 could be about the same range of players. Very deep draft at the top but not crazy top-heavy. The top-heavy is Myles Garrett and whatever quarterback you may fall in love with."

Asked about such reports here Thursday, Jackson said it's too early to say.

"Obviously he's a tremendous player,'' Jackson said. "There's a lot of good players in this draft. It's just so early for us to determine exactly where we are. All those things will be discussed and thrown around as we continue to move forward.''

Trubisky is one of about four players on the Browns' radar at No. 1, but he could have a slight edge given that Jackson said at the Senior Bowl a good quarterback would trump an elite non-QB. The three other top candidates are Garrett, Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson and Alabama pass-rusher Jonathan Allen.

Jackson insisted Thursday that the Browns don't have the top quarterbacks ranked yet.

"We kind of have an idea, but there's no final, final (ranking) right now,'' he said. "I think we have an idea heading into it who are the guys that we really want to see more and find out more about, but I think it's way early to make a decision about exactly where that position is."



But Trubisky's 13 college starts and the fact he couldn't beat out Marquise Williams his first two years won't scare him off.

"It's a small sample size, but at the same time he still played,'' Jackson said. "I don't think that's what's important. If a guy demonstrates the characteristics you're looking for, it's important to keep digging and find out more, but I don't get concerned about that part of it as long as a guy can do what we need him to do."

The Browns will meet with Trubisky and the other top quarterbacks here at the Combine, and one of things they'll grill the former Tar Heel on is the pressure of playing for his hometown team. He's made it clear he wants to play for the Browns, and proudly wore his Browns gear on jersey days at North Carolina.



"All those things are important,'' said Jackson. "Some guys play better when they're at home, some guys don't. We'd have to know all those things. And we'll do the digging on all these guys that way.''

Jackson reiterated the three things he's looking for in a quarterback, and Trubisky seems to fit the bill: 1. Arm talent 2. Processing ability and 3. Face-of-the-franchise qualities.

Trubisky's college coach, Larry Fedora, raved about him in all three categories.

"Mitch Trubisky will be the face of somebody's organization and he will make them proud,'' Fedora told cleveland.com. "He'll never embarrass them. He's as solid a person as there is. He's the kind of person you'd want to be the face of your organization and he's a program-changer. Somebody's going to be able to build around him and have that piece of the puzzle. And at that level, that piece of the puzzle is extremely important.''

As for arm talent, Fedora said, "His accuracy is phenomenal. He's the most accurate quarterback I've ever coached or been around, and there's been some good ones. Mitch can put the ball exactly where he wants to put it. He can do it whether he's balanced or unbalanced. He can do it off his back foot, leaning, he can do it from a 3/4 pro to a sidearm. He can put the ball where he needs to put it, and that's very unique.

"He can make every throw but on top of everything, he makes really good decisions.''

In regards to processing, he said the Tar Heels put a lot on Trubisky's plate as far as "post-snap reads, whether or not we're going to run the football, throw it based on different keys. He doesn't throw it into coverage and he understands where to go with the ball. He's done a really good job of taking care of the football and we preach that.''

He added, "he's a quick learner. I can assure you, with his work ethic, those things are not going to be a problem. If he's taken No. 1 overall, he's qualified for it, no doubt.''

Of course, what the Browns do at No. 1 will be impacted by whether or not they can trade for Jimmy Garoppolo. Sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter they're not trading him, but some personnel executives here are still skeptical of that. The Browns, who will likely have some Garoppolo meetings here, should know by the end of this week whether or not that's true.

In the meantime, Jackson addressed head of football operations Sashi Brown's sentiments that he'd be OK if the Browns headed into 2017 with the current three QBs on the roster: Robert Griffin III, Cody Kessler and Kevin Hogan.

"It could happen that way - not that we want it to be that way, but that the same time, that's a reality too,'' Jackson said. "But we're going to do everything we can to go find a quarterback for the Cleveland Browns."

And they might find him right in their own backyard.