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Report: Jets Eyeing North Carolina QB Trubisky In Draft

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Could the Jets add yet another young quarterback next season?

According to the New York Daily News' Manish Mehta, Gang Green is "infatuated" with North Carolina signal-caller Mitch Trubisky.

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound, strong-armed QB has completed 68.9 percent of his passes and thrown for 3,468 yards, 28 touchdowns and four interceptions this season for the 8-4 Tar Heels.

Trubisky is a junior and has yet to declare for the draft.

"The Jets are all over this kid. All over him," a rival scout told Mehta. "They'll probably deny it if you ask, but they love that kid. That's their guy."

MORE: 10 Quarterbacks Who Might Be Jets' Starter Next Season

If they are serious about drafting Trubisky, the Jets might have to trade up. New York (4-9) is currently in position for the fifth or sixth pick. A recent mock draft by CBSSports.com's Rob Rang, for example, has Trubisky going first overall to Cleveland.

The Jets have drafted quarterbacks each of the past two seasons. In 2014, they spent a fourth-round pick on Baylor's Bryce Petty, who is expected to finish the season as the Jets' starter while he tries to prove his worth for the future. In two starts so far, the results have been mixed.

In the second round this past April, New York selected Penn State's Christian Hackenberg, a developmental project who might not be ready to take the reigns in 2017, if ever.

"There are a lot of people in the building who I believe in and who I trust who give me a strong indication that the future of that position is not in the building," Mehta told WFAN's Joe Benigno and Brandon Tierney on Wednesday.

Mehta said he also doesn't believe that most people within the Jets organization support pursuing Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.

"To bring in a 36-year-old quarterback, for a team that's not ready to win, for a team that frankly doesn't have that great of an offensive line doesn't make any sense at all," he said. "So I would be very surprised if (general manager) Mike Maccagnan signed off on that. Now ultimately (owner) Woody Johnson is his boss, so I can't speak to how Maccagnan would react to that. I can only tell you that I'm fairly certain that the people in that building do not want Tony Romo to be the starting quarterback in 2017."

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