Advanced stats show how awful Dillon Gabriel has been for Browns

Outsiders continue to ask why Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski is sticking with rookie Dillon Gabriel as the club's starting quarterback with the Browns at 2-7 and fellow first-year pro Shedeur Sanders on Cleveland's bench. 

For a piece published on Wednesday, Zac Jackson of The Athletic shared what the advanced stats say about Gabriel's play this fall. 

How Dillon Gabriel compares to other starting quarterbacks

"Twenty-six quarterbacks have a positive (expected points added) per dropback through 10 weeks," Jackson wrote. "Gabriel is 41st, at -0.18 per dropback, which ranks him ahead of only two current starters: Cam Ward and J.J. McCarthy. Gabriel’s dropback success rate for the season is 33 percent, last among starters and 50th among the 64 quarterbacks who have played at some point this season. On the year, Gabriel is only completing 42.9 percent of his targets to wide receivers."

The Browns were 1-3 when they benched (and later traded) veteran Joe Flacco to play Gabriel. Gabriel has since gone 1-4 as Cleveland's QB1, and ESPN stats show that the Browns are entering Week 11 ranked 31st in the league with an average of 265.1 yards gained per game.  

According to Pro Football Reference, Gabriel began Wednesday ranked 31st in the NFL among qualified players with a 33.0 adjusted QBR and 30th with an 80.4 passer rating. Over five starts and seven games, he tossed seven touchdown passes and two interceptions. 

Dillon Gabriel's numbers could be worse

"Gabriel has only thrown two picks, but six more potential interceptions (conservatively) have been dropped," Jackson added. "On 200 dropbacks, Gabriel has completed 58.6 percent of his passes at a league-low 5.0 yards per attempt and 5.9 air yards per attempt. He’s been sacked on 8.9 percent of his dropbacks and registered a first down on 24.7 percent of them. The next-lowest in first downs per attempt are two other AFC North quarterbacks, Flacco and Aaron Rodgers, at 28.8 percent."

At this point, it's fair to wonder if Deshaun Watson will take a meaningful in-game snap for the Browns this fall before Sanders makes his regular-season debut. For now, Gabriel will get the nod when the Browns host the Baltimore Ravens (4-5) this coming Sunday. As of Wednesday morning, ESPN BET had Cleveland as an 8.5-point home underdog for that matchup.