Hue Jackson reportedly wanted Carson Wentz; Browns didn't think he'd be a top QB

The Browns coach was blown away with Wentz and reportedly preferred him to Jared Goff

Carson Wentz's very first NFL start came against the Browns during Week 1 of the 2016 season. The then-rookie looked like a grizzled vet and when it was over he had gone 22 for 37 with two touchdowns and no turnovers, and the Eagles cruised to a 29-10 victory.

At the time, Browns coach Hue Jackson was asked about the team's decision to trade out of the No. 2 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft -- and in the process, pass on Wentz who is now one of the league's best young players.

"We didn't draft Carson Wentz because we didn't think it was the right fit for our team at this time," Jackson told Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio in September 2016. "There's nothing more to it. Obviously, that will make for great debate in the media, and that's fine. Our singular focus right now is just preparing to face the Eagles."

It was a reasonable stance. Teams reach for young quarterbacks all the time and not only that, the Browns had needs up and down the roster. But that stance also turns out to be untrue. Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot writes that Jackson and then-Browns assistant coach Pep Hamilton were blown away by Wentz's private pre-draft workout and were "instantly sold on him as their quarterback of the future."

Cabot continued:

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' 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.

Because of a snowstorm, Jackson was also the only NFL head coach to attend Wentz's pro day, and just like the private workout, Wentz was impressive.

So why didn't the Browns pull the trigger on Wentz? The Browns' front office, which includes a former Dodgers general manager and an analytics-based approach to roster building, didn't deem Wentz worth the risk.

"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,'' Browns front office executive Paul DePodesta told ESPN before the '16 season. "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 [in 2016]."

And a year later, when the Browns still had a desperate need for a quarterback, they traded out of the No. 12 pick and in the process passed on Deshaun Watson. Jackson has been asked about that decision too.

"I totally get it," Jackson said in October, days before the Browns faced Watson and the Texans. "What did I tell you guys earlier in the week? You guys can say whatever you like. I get it. I get the second-guessing, the questions, all of that. You guys are entitled to do all of that. DeShone Kizer is on our team; Deshaun Watson is on their team. We can't all of a sudden flip them. So why are we even having this discussion?"

If Jackson had gotten his way 18 months ago we wouldn't be.