It's been tough sledding for the Cleveland Browns offense this season. That unit has not gotten it done to this point, no matter who the quarterback has been at the helm.
Most recently, the player at that spot has been Dillon Gabriel, a prospect Cleveland took in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
There's been some positive glimpses here and there from Gabriel, and his first start did feature some encouraging throws, but the struggles have been there regularly. In fairness, that was to be expected for the rookie signal caller, given the circumstances, and Cleveland's pass protection must improve.
Still, there are clearly areas where Gabriel has to be better for Cleveland's offense. Along those lines, former Browns quarterback Cody Kessler (a third-round pick by Cleveland in 2016) touched on some of those things in a recent evaluation of Gabriel.
“The Browns have no vertical passing threat right now ... Gabriel threw the ball 52 times for only 220 yards. That’s not good enough!”@CodyKessler6 says Dillon Gabriel is in trouble of losing his starting roll. pic.twitter.com/D9uJtLncR4
— The Arena: Gridiron (@ArenaGridiron) October 14, 2025
Kessler was honest and fair in his evaluation of Gabriel's play for the Browns.
Through three appearances (with two starts), Gabriel has posted 430 yards on 89 passing attempts, with three touchdowns, including two in Cleveland's loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London. Plus, as the statline shows, he has not thrown an interception.
Although, as Kessler alluded to above, it's not exactly been all systems go for Gabriel, and the Pittsburgh Steelers had several intercepting opportunities in their grasp on Sunday. So, to reiterate, Gabriel has not formally thrown the ball to the other team yet.
However, the Steelers registered six sacks on Sunday, and there were plays where picks were dropped by them, and Gabriel has not been firing away to keep defenders honest downfield, either. As that disappointing game progressed, Pittsburgh seemed to be jumping a number of short throws from Gabriel, and somehow, Cleveland and Gabriel are going to need to challenge opposing defenses more vertically to move the ball better.
Dillon Gabriel had more completions behind LoS (6) than beyond 10 yards (4)
— Underdog (@Underdog) October 13, 2025
52 attempts and 0 completions of 15+ yards 🥀 pic.twitter.com/HJWaSbZpWU
The above pass chart from Next Gen Stats (as h/t Underdog) will not excite Browns fans, and as is demonstrated, Gabriel did not connect on a throw of 15-plus yards at Pittsburgh. That cannot continue to happen if Cleveland is going to have a chance to be competent over the course of games through the air.
Additionally, as the aforementioned Kessler pointed out, Gabriel has to limit instances where he's putting his pass catchers in harm's way on in-breaking routes and/or in situations where players are clear targets near the hashes.
There was a tough one where Jerry Jeudy was targeted, and a time when David Njoku had to leave the game at Pittsburgh from a throw that did not help his cause in absorbing a hit. These sorts of issues, to reinforce, have to be emphasized for Gabriel moving forward, and to prevent turnover-worthy plays, also.
Granted, there are times when pass catchers have to expect to get hit on in-breaking routes, in particular, and the Browns have to be helping their rookie quarterback in being more consistent with catching balls they clearly should. The bad drops Cleveland has had, including some at Pittsburgh, don't aid in the offense's efforts. But, it's on the quarterback to minimize the sequences in games when pass catchers are put in obviously compromised positions from a health standpoint with ball location.
Hopefully, that is addressed, starting with Cleveland's upcoming game versus the Miami Dolphins. And while Cleveland's pass protection is something to keep in mind with the limitations there, partially due to injury, Kevin Stefanski and company have to try to scheme up some more vertical shot plays for Gabriel. Now, he'll have to see those opportunities (with his shorter height for an NFL quarterback in mind), and pull the trigger as well, though.
Whether Gabriel can fare better from here is something to keep a watchful eye on. If not, regardless of how hot Stefanski's seat potentially gets, more and more fans could very well be clamoring for Shedeur Sanders to take the reins as the QB1.