It is quite easy to forget that the Cleveland Browns used a third-round pick on a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft, as Dillon Gabriel didn't even have a prayer of beating out either Deshaun Watson or Shedeur Sanders.
The Browns' quarterback competition has been decided, with head coach Todd Monken declaring Watson the starter and Shedeur Sanders the backup. Gabriel's best-case scenario is earning the No. 3 quarterback spot, which still doesn't mean that he will be in the team's 2026 plans.
A little more than a year after this organization used a top-100 pick on Gabriel, he has already been all but removed from the team's future plans. Normally, this would be one of the marquee narratives surrounding this woebegone team, but this may not even crack the top five due to the PR atomic bomb that starting Watson has proved to be.
Cleveland Browns' Dillon Gabriel pick looks even worse after Deshaun Watson decision
While Sanders was viewed by many as a first-round or second-round talent who fell in the draft after some reported poor interviews, Gabriel was viewed as a fringe draftable prospect. Still, with Cleveland taking him when Sanders was still on the board, the Browns' front office clearly believed he was the better quarterback at the time.
Those who doubted Gabriel were skeptical of the 5-11 left-hander's poor arm strength and inability to make plays when forced off his spot. Cleveland thought that his mental processing would be enough to carve out a role with the Browns as a long-term backup.
Instead, Sanders, picked two rounds after him in the same draft, immediately showed to be a much better player with a higher ceiling.
While he did manage to avoid turnovers and had a better passer rating than Sanders during their rookie seasons, Gabriel's unwillingness (or inability) to test defenses down the field created an overly conservative passing game that is impossible to win with in the modern NFL.
Dillon Gabriel may be QB3 for the Cleveland Browns
With Cleveland drafting Taylen Green, who is the diametric opposite of Gabriel as a prospect due to his amazing athleticism and rocket arm, in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft, it seems like the Browns are already preparing for Gabriel to be cut loose. This pick was a bad idea at the time, and it looks worse than ever now.
Berry has done a lot of good things in Cleveland, but he has bungled the quarterback position at just about every given opportunity. Not unlike Cody Kessler years ago, the Browns used a third-round pick on a player many believed would not get drafted, and he proved all the doubters wrong by not factoring into terrible quarterback races.
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