The Cleveland Browns may have one of the worst quarterback rooms in the NFL at this point, yet their quarterback competition at OTAs will be watched more than any other one across the league. Not only is Joe Flacco fighting with Kenny Pickett for the starting job, but Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders are battling it out for QB3.
Despite the fact that Sanders was regarded as an elite prospect, Cleveland took Gabriel in the third round while snatching Sanders in the fifth round. Throughout the first few OTA practices, it seems like Sanders has emerged as the superior quarterback while Gabriel has fallen behind.
Zac Jackson of The Athletic praised how Sanders has looked in the last few days, but he offered a less-than-exciting analysis of Gabriel. Jackson said that Gabriel "does not look like an NFL quarterback to me," which is extremely concerning coming from padless practices.
Jackson said that the Browns fell in love with Gabriel's intangibles, his performance in a "analytics charting project" that the front office has been using in recent years, and his showing at the Senior Bowl. That love may end up being unrequited if Gabriel keeps performing like this.
Browns reporter declares Dillon Gabriel does not look like an NFL quarterback
From a statistical point of view, Gabriel is one of the best college quarterbacks of all time. While he started for six full seasons at UCF, Oklahoma, and Oregon, Gabriel did amass over 18,000 passing yards and a record 155 touchdown passes. However, there are reasons why picking him in the third round was viewed as a massive reach.
Gabriel is a 5-10 quarterback with below-average arm strength, lacking Kyler Murray's once-in-a-generation athletic ability to overcome that particular flaw. The skinny southpaw will be playing in adverse weather when he comes to Cleveland, which is something the native Hawaiian almost never did in college.
While Sanders was by no means a perfect prospect, he has superior arm talent and accuracy that is just as good as what Gabriel brings to the table. The only thing Gabriel has over Sanders, who has impressed at OTAs, is his draft status.
Saying that Gabriel doesn't belong in the NFL might be a bit of a harsh assessment, but what has become very clear in the early stages of the offseason is that, from a talent point of view, Sanders has him clearly beat out.