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Browns Face Backlash Over QB Dillon Gabriel

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Nicholas McGee | Last updated Apr 28, 2025 12:12 PM ET

The Cleveland Browns took two quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft, and their decision to select former UCF Knights star Dillon Gabriel before then going on to take Shedeur Sanders is attracting significant criticism.

Cleveland selected Gabriel in the third round following his stellar lone season with the Oregon Ducks, one which saw him throw for a career-high 3,857 yards, 30 touchdowns and six interceptions while leading Oregon to a Big Ten title and the top seed in the College Football Playoff.

But they followed that by trading up in the fifth round to end the Colorado Buffaloes' quarterback's precipitous slide, and the combination of those moves has raised eyebrows.

ESPN's Matt Miller and Jordan Reid each critiqued the Browns' selection of Gabriel, who transferred from UCF after the 2021 season to join the Oklahoma Sooners, with the 94th overall pick.

Miller wrote: "Drafting Gabriel toward the end of Round 3 was a head-scratcher based on value and was made even more confusing when the Browns added Shedeur Sanders in Round 5. Gabriel is a smart, experienced quarterback but he's undersized (6-foot, 200 pounds) and enters a crowded QB room."

Reid concurred, adding: "I agree with Matt on this one. I didn't understand the logic behind the Gabriel selection Friday night and still don't after having time to process it. There is a schematic fit, but the pick was premature. It seems even worse now that the Browns added Sanders, too."

In addition to Sanders, Gabriel joins a quarterback room that features Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and Deshaun Watson, though the latter has likely played his last snap for the Browns.

Gabriel, though, will be undeterred by the challenge, having shone at three different schools in college, two of them at the Power 4 level. He has the experience and maturity to attack the situation in which he finds himself, and it would not be a surprise if he ends up proving a lot of people wrong.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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