NFL
By: Rick O’Donnell
It was no secret that the Cleveland Browns were desperate for a quarterback. Yes, Joe Flacco is back in Cleveland, they have Kenny Pickett, and Deshaun Watson is still hanging around so desperate might rub Browns fans the wrong way, but they were desperate. Of the three quarterbacks on the roster, who is their long-term answer?
Despite being the last QB to lead the Browns to the playoffs, Joe Flacco is 40 years old. Kenny Pickett has a club option that could keep him in Cleveland through 2026 (according to sportrac), but unless he comes out and is hands down the best option, the chances the Browns pick that up are slim. Not only does Pickett need to prove he’s the best QB on the Browns, he has to prove he’s in the top half of the NFL at his position. Paying $22 million for a backup would be strange. Then, of course, we all know the Deshaun Watson saga.
So it should come to no surprise that the Cleveland Browns chose a quarterback in the NFL Draft this year. However, who they chose, when they chose him, and who they chose him over is the headscratcher. With absolutely zero disrespect to Dillion Gabriel, but Cleveland I’m going to need some explaining.
On most pre-draft rankings, Dillion was the 9th best QB option and 200+ overall and the Browns took him in the third round at pick 94. As someone who always says the term “reach” is a media driven term and teams should pick who they want as they feel comfortable, I can forgive where they selected him, but not sure why. Hopefully, for Browns fans, he proves people wrong.
The Browns chose a QB who had 25% of his throws behind the line of scrimmage and doesn’t throw the deep ball too often. At 5’11” it is completely understandable why he doesn’t get the ball downfield too often. Still, let’s not throw Gabriel under the bus just yet, more and more QBs with size concerns are showing promise in the NFL.
But back to the QBs the Browns could’ve had. Let’s say someone better than I can explain the Sanders(23 y/o) slide, Ewers(22y/o) was there and had the experience of playing at Texas. Will Howard(23y/o) led Ohio State if they were looking for someone with prestige from elite college football. Kyle McCord(22y/o) led all of college football in passing in 2024 and knocked off top-picked Cam Ward at the end of the season. Yet, Cleveland still chose Gabriel who is not only the smallest but the oldest of the bunch as well at 24.
Height and age aren’t exactly deal breakers, but still have to be noted. In the third round, you’re not exactly as committed to a QB as you would be in the first two rounds.
But the kicker to what seems like nitpicks is, yes Dillion Gabriel played at Oregon who has a pretty good football program but that’s part of the problem. When you have a prestigious school, you often have top talent, which at times makes players look more special than they are. Could this be the case here and that’s why Cleveland pulled the trigger.
The offensive scheme and talent allowed him to throw into large windows, often hitting wide open WRs. At the NFL level, those windows aren’t always there. He’ll have to throw into tighter windows. Another knock on the young man is locking on to receivers. In a division that gets after the quarterback, you don’t have the time to wait for windows to develop. Staring down a WR can easily turn into a sack or interception.
Accuracy and mobility are great, but how he fits the Cleveland Browns’ scheme is questionable. Cleveland is a run first team, and getting a QB who doesn’t throw down the field well in an offense that should lean heavily on play-action passing might come back to bite them in the long run.
The silver lining here is, Cleveland picked him in the third round. That late in the draft you can afford to let the QB develop. They already bolstered needs in other areas and don’t need to throw Gabriel to the wolves. Maybe he’ll prove the Browns made the right choice. However, given their history with quarterbacks, I wouldn’t rush out and buy his jersey just yet.
