Never has a team projected to win so few games with such little quarterback talent attracted the level of attention to their quarterback room that the 2025 Cleveland Browns have going for them. The four quarterbacks going at it for the right to be the top dog in this room are locked in a battle of wills.
Most expect two veterans in greybeard Joe Flacco and recent acquisition Kenny Pickett to serve as the top two quarterbacks on gameday, with two rookies in third-round pick Dillon Gabriel and fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders fighting it out for the illustrious title of third-string Browns quarterback.
Vic Tafur of the Athletic believes the Browns will win fewer than 4.5 games this season, with their quarterback instability standing out as one of the main reasons why the expectations are so low. Tafur believes that Sanders will overtake Gabriel on the depth chart, with the former Heisman finalist's shortcomings being too great to ignore.
"Shedeur Sanders should get a much-needed win and beat out Dillon Gabriel for the No. 3 job," Tafur said. "as the Browns will learn you can’t draft a short quarterback in the third round just because he has a firm handshake and intangibles." It's safe to say Tafur is not a fan of Gabriel's game.
The Athletic rips Browns QB Dillon Gabriel and projects four-win season
Sanders going in the fifth round is one of the most shocking NFL Draft slides ever, but Gabriel going in the third round after months of pre-draft rumors pegged him as a possible fifth or sixth-round pick in the best of worlds is stunning. Gabriel has tremendous college production and is exceedingly accurate, but he has some major flaws attached to him.
At 5-10 and barely over 200 pounds, the sixth-year senior Gabriel is historically small for the quarterback position. His arm is below-average for NFL standards, no matter where he plays, and it might be a bit of a culture shock for a Hawaii native who played college ball at Central Florida, Oklahoma, and Oregon to adjust to the adverse Ohio winter weather.
Sanders had some questions (valid and ridiculous alike) about his leadership ability and conduct that sank his stock, but no one questioned his terrific mental processing ability, accuracy in the pocket, and his ability to fit the ball into tight windows when he is protected. Gabriel might not be able to compete with that.