The Cleveland Browns shocked the world when they took Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Some teams reportedly didn’t even have him on their big boards, and he was mostly projected to be a late-round pick or an undrafted free agent.
Then, when they took Shedeur Sanders two rounds later, the pick was even more controversial. Gabriel didn’t have the measurements of an ideal NFL signal-caller, was left-handed, and would be a 25-year-old rookie.
Kevin Stefanski still rolled with him after Joe Flacco’s struggles, and, unsurprisingly, the doubters were right all along. However, as tough a watch as he was last season, GM Andrew Berry won’t shut the door on him. Speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine, Berry said the team hasn’t given up on Gabriel.
“He may be forgotten externally, but he’s not forgotten to us,” Berry said, per ESPN insider Daniel Oyefusi. “(He’s) gonna handle everything within his control … Dillon’s a guy that has a bright future in this league.”
The Browns haven’t forgotten about Dillon Gabriel
In ten appearances (six starts), Gabriel completed just 59.5 percent of his passes for 937 yards, seven touchdowns, and two interceptions. He averaged 93.7 passing yards per game, with most of his attempts being behind the line of scrimmage.
The Browns praised his decision-making and ability to read coverage, but his rookie tape showed otherwise. The lack of turnovers wasn’t due to ball placement or sound decisions; he actually put the ball in harm’s way multiple times and just caught some lucky breaks.
Gabriel wasn’t tall enough to see over the defensive line, and he played on one of the most conservative, boring offenses in recent history. There was no juice or vertical threat at all, and a lot of that had to do with his below-average arm strength and glaring physical limitations.
Of course, that’s not to say that he doesn’t have a place in the league. He’s a hard-working guy who’s improved yearly since he was in college. However, he’s not going to grow overnight, and he simply may not have what it takes to be a starter at this level.
Perhaps Berry is just hyping him up to see if he has any trade value. Maybe Kevin Stefanski will take the bait and get him to Atlanta, or any team desperate for depth will look at him as a project to work on. Other than using him as a trade chip, the Browns shouldn’t even consider keeping him on the roster.
They could use that roster spot better by trading for or signing a veteran, or maybe even rolling the dice with a rookie. Even if Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson are in the lead for the QB1 spot, bringing in a guy for Todd Monken makes more sense than trying to find value where there isn’t with Gabriel.
