Dillon Gabriel’s Struggles Challenge Cleveland Browns’ Quarterback Decision
There’s been extensive coverage of the ongoing quarterback dilemma faced by the Cleveland Browns ever since the 2025 NFL Draft. The roster is currently comprised of Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders, all of whom are competing for the role of primary quarterback. An injury to Deshaun Watson has paved the way to leadership for the best performer. Yet, with the onset of August and the imminent season, a definitive decision looms.
Seemingly, the stand-out individual has unfortunately been marked by a lack of promising competitiveness rather than exceptional skill. Dillon Gabriel, formerly of the illustrious Oklahoma Sooners and Oregon Ducks, has been struggling to uphold his prior status during training and potentially faces being sidelined.
Despite certain criticisms being notably severe, there’s a collective sentiment that Gabriel is underperforming at the professional level. It’s challenging to deny that while he has had some highlight moments, his overall performance hasn’t risen to NFL standards. Repeated first-team stem inclusion may be doing more harm than good.
Critics argue that this isn’t a critique on his physical stature or personal attributes, rather it reflects his lackluster playing skills. His inability to connect with open receivers and a less than impressive warmup performance is indicative of a player struggling to graduate to the big league. Skillful quarterbacking seems to be currently outside of his reach.
Drafted in Round Three of the 2025 NFL Draft, Gabriel enjoyed a commendable college career playing for Oklahoma and Oregon. However, persistent doubts as to his adaptability to the NFL framework have since been circling the campfire.
The current dilemma places the Browns, fans, and critics alike, in a position to view Gabriel as a potential contender for a starting role – a perspective that many argue is inappropriate given his performance thus far. The unnecessary pressure on the third-round pick isn’t considered fair, and it may be hindering rather than promoting his growth.
Gabriel’s performance to date has been critiqued as significantly underpar, and some even assert that it brings the training to a disruptive pause. Although this may sound intense, it sheds light on the state of the quarterback race in the Browns’ camp.
As uncertainty looms over the eventual choice the Browns will make, activity within the training camp continues. Pickett has been navigating through an injury, however, all four players have had fair opportunities to prove themselves.
ESPN Cleveland provides the statistics that reveal each player’s performance thus far: Joe Flacco has completed 54 out of 92 attempts with three touchdowns; Dillon Gabriel has accomplished 62 completions out of 113 tries with four touchdowns and two interceptions; Kenny Pickett made 23 successful attempts out of 34 efforts with three touchdowns and one interception; and finally, Shedeur Sanders has hit 49 out of 70 attempts with an impressive six touchdowns.
A glance at the statistics highlights that Gabriel has been given the most attempts, yet his completion rate hovers just above 50%, a figure that doesn’t inspire much confidence. On the other hand, Sanders, with the highest tally of touchdowns, carries a more promising vibe.
Notably, both Flacco and Sanders have managed to avoid any interceptions up to this point on Friday, adding additional weight to their campaigns. Although the points of focus may differ, each player on the roster has had his moments, and the statistics illustrate this clearly.
The upcoming initial preseason game against the Carolina Panthers on Friday is set to pose an exciting challenge. How head coach Kevin Stefanski will choose to utilize each player in this first public showdown of the season remains a significant point of anticipation.