#dillon gabriel

[k8023]

We used to be a proper division 😭

[the-football-chick]

Browns veteran QB Joe Flacco is benched and rookie Dillon Gabriel will get the start in Week 5 against the Vikings.

IG: nfl (10/1/25)

[lethimsoak]

THIS OLD MAN IS TAKING THE ROOKIE PUSSY ALL TO HIMSELF 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[indeedgoodman]

[sketchedseed]

in my head this is the browns quarterback room

[slugmagon]

Because I refuse to post on Twitter or Threads etc., Tumblr will get my NFL Draft Updates instead, I will also make this style approachable to people who don’t know as much about football:

The top story in this draft is, of course, Colorado quarterback (QB) Shedeur Sanders falling into the 5th round of the draft, despite being projected to go in the 1st round. Not only this, but he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns, a team that already had three quarterbacks on the roster (Deshaun Watson, Kenny Pickett, and Joe Flacco), AND had previously drafted a quarterback this weekend (Dillon Gabriel, Oregon, in the 4th round).

Sanders was the most accurate passer on the table, along with being very tough and having high football knowledge, he and Cam Ward (quarterback, Miami (FL)) were considered neck and neck for the top QB spot. Both are classic gunslingers (a style of quarterback play that focuses on almost always passing the ball rather than sometimes scrambling (running). Good gunslingers need to have powerful arms and good tactical vision to succeed) at the position with comparable ability. On the flip side, he had some mentality/work rate concerns as many pundits claimed that clubs got the impression he was more focused on promoting his personal brand rather than the success of his team. He apparently tanked interviews with teams that he didn’t want to play for, most likely the New York Giants and the New Orleans Saints, who both passed up on Sanders to draft Jaxson Dart and Tyler Shough respectively.

Slug’s Take: I think the Browns have made a few unexpected decisions in this draft, and this is definitely one of them, but I don’t think this decision is unfounded.

Starting with Cleveland’s draft strategy, it’s clear to me that they wanted to strengthen as much of the team as possible with rookie-contract players to turn their team into Moneyball-style contenders. The deservedly-maligned Deshaun Watson blew up his Achilles twice in the 2024 season and is paid a stupidly high $230 million dollars in guaranteed money over his contract, so they don’t have a lot of options when it comes to bringing in big-time players while Watson is still on their payroll. Cleveland is more than a new QB away from success, and they know that, it’s best to patch up some holes while the roof is leaking rather than get a bigger bucket to hold the water in.

Regarding Sanders, it has to be said how weak this QB class actually is. Cam Ward going to the Tennessee Titans first overall is not a case of Ward being the best player in the draft, it’s a case of Ward being the least mid QB for a team that needs to take a risk at QB. Sanders was an accurate passer, yes, but he had limited success with his college team, does not have a very powerful arm or notable running ability, and has never once been coached by someone who wasn’t his father (NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders). Are these flaws going to limit his success in the NFL? It’s hard to say, but it’s enough to dissuade teams from picking him.

Now comes the question of who is going to start for Cleveland. My prediction is that the malignant tumor of a player that is Deshaun Watson is either going to be waived or perpetually on injured reserve as his contract winds down with the Browns, Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett are going to compete for the backup role behind whoever wins the QB competition out of Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. Compared to Sanders (his evaluation is in the first section), Gabriel is a stronger runner and has extensive collegiate experience in a variety of systems, but is undersized for his position while having skills that many scouts believe to be difficult to transfer to the professional game. My ideal lineup for Cleveland would be Sanders at the start, Flacco as a backup, and Gabriel as the third stringer. Flacco has hit 40, so his time even as a backup is waning, but he is the perfect mentor for Sanders going into the professional game as he brings a wealth of experience not just regarding basic quarterback play, but with the gunslinger role specifically.

At worst, Sanders is going to be a solid backup quarterback, but he has higher upside than Dillon Gabriel, in my opinion, that many teams will find difficult to reach due to their perception of his attitude. On the plus side, the man is grateful to be picked by the Browns, even if it’s in the 5th round, which is better than that club can say for a lot of their players.

[sportstalk2]

[the-football-chick]

??