Shedeur Sanders took a draft dive like no one before him, but fellow Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel has almost as much to prove.
Sanders was a five-star recruit out of high school and one of the most recognizable names in college football during the 2024 campaign. Meanwhile, Gabriel will turn 25 years old roughly a week before his rookie NFL season concludes and played six years of NCAA football as an undersized signal caller (5-feet, 11-inches tall and 200 pounds) in a relentless effort to prove himself.
Both quarterbacks had tremendous success at their respective schools in 2024. Sanders turned around one of the worst programs in the country and led the Colorado to its first winning record in eight years (9-4). Meanwhile, Gabriel led Oregon to an undefeated regular season, the Big Ten championship and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff.
But neither Gabriel or Sanders wowed the professional ranks with their preseason workouts and interviews, and they both ended up landing in Cleveland in the late third round and early fifth round, respectively.
Both will also battle veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett for a roster spot and potentially the starting job this offseason, though the specific competition between Gabriel and Sanders began this weekend at the team’s rookie minicamp. And early on, there is a leader in the clubhouse.
“Yes, it’s just the first day of rookie minicamp — but Shedeur Sanders looked sharper than Dillon Gabriel,” Brad Stainbrook of ESPN posted to X on Friday, May 9. “This is only the beginning. The competition is real, and it’s going to be one of the stories of the season.”
Kevin Stefanski Warns Against Reading Into Browns QB Competition too Early in Preseason
GettyHead coach Kevin Stefanski of the Cleveland Browns.
Sanders won the early eye test, at least where Stainbrook is concerned, but there is still a lot of competition left to be sorted out.
That said, it was Gabriel who took the initial snaps on the first day of rookie minicamp. Head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters not to read into that, however, as the road to the final roster/depth chart remains months long.
Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com asked Stefanski during a media session on Saturday how Gabriel and Sanders stack up against the likes of the three veteran QBs on the Browns’ roster, but he again downplayed the importance of that at this stage of the offseason.
“Not so much worried about how they stack up, per se … but excited to have them around Deshaun (Watson), Joe (Flacco) [and] Kenny (Pickett),” Stefanski responded. “Welcome them into the quarterback room and, you know, understand that’s a place where we work really hard, we talk about a ton of football — high level football — and I think they’ll fit in really well.”
Browns Have 3 Veteran QBs Standing in Way of Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel Earning Starting Job
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Sanders and Gabriel probably don’t have to worry too much about a roster spot after the Browns spent meaningful draft picks on each of them in late April, unless either player tanks significantly in the preseason. However, one of them will have to shine extra bright to grab the starting job come Week 1.
Watson continues rehabilitating a twice-torn Achilles tendon and is all but a lock to begin the year with an injury designation, with a good chance to remain in that position all season long. Flacco and Pickett are both veterans with winning records in the NFL and relatively recent success, which puts them in better positions to start for the Browns come September.
However, poor play and/or injuries could prove significant factors in the Cleveland quarterbacks room, which means that whomever wins the rookie battle between Sanders and Gabriel may get a chance to start at some point in 2025.
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