In one of the boldest moves the Cleveland Browns have made in a long time, the club opted to draft not one, but two rookie quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft. They took third-rounder Dillon Gabriel first, and in the fifth round, took Shedeur Sanders second. Both men are coming in with the idea that they could be the team's long-term option at quarterback.
With Sanders' name value, pedigree, and pre-draft hype, many expected him to be the second quarterback off the board for the entire NFL draft, not the second quarterback off the board just for the Brows. That move shocked everyone, not just his fall to the fifth round, but which club took him. Arriving in Cleveland, Sanders has a chance to find his footing in an offense that's designed to make quarterbacks look better than they possibly could've hoped.
Sanders could easily shine in head coach Kevin Stefanski's offense. That is, if it wasn't for the fact that he's third, if not fourth, on the depth chart behind Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett and maybe Gabriel.
QB Dillon Gabriel Looks Like a Surprise Breakout Player
Flacco is likely to start the season as the number-one option, while Pickett could find himself as a backup. If that's the case, there's likely no reason to keep four quarterbacks, so Sanders has a lot to prove. Especially with how good Gabriel has looked so far this summer.
We're only a few weeks through the summer, and Gabriel has become the name that has been most associated with the first-team offense. He's taken the helm for the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 inter-squad practices and shown some real quality production so far. Some believe that Gabriel is also more dynamic in the pocket, allowing him more effortlessly evade defenders who breach the line of scrimmage.
If Gabriel continues to showcase his talents in lieu of Flacco or Pickett, then it's possible that Gabriel could make both Pickett and Sanders expendable by the end of the preseason schedule. Though we should point out that we haven't even gotten into the heart of the summer practices, with training camp officially right around the corner.
That's when we'll really see just how much Gabriel can achieve with this team.