I Believe in Dillon Gabriel

As we sit here at the end of June, nearly a month away from preseason football the Browns quarterback room is nothing short of chaos. It's like a big cloud of dust right now from a cartoon, and to be frank (yocum) with you, I don’t know who’s gonna come out on top. 

Most TD passes in CFB history (tied with Case Keenum)

In one corner we have the criminal and former future of the league but now he’s a bum Deshaun Watson. In another we have Super Bowl champion Joe Flacco who somehow keeps performing at a level good enough where he can’t justify retirement. This QB room actually has two rings in it… the other belongs to Kenny Pickett of course. He’s the QB3 at the moment, but you gotta think he could become a trade candidate at some point before week 1. 

Then the rookies, the Browns first round pick and son of Deion Sanders, Shedeur Sanders. Just now reading that he was a fifth rounder, that’s my mistake. Apparently Deshaun has taken him “under his wing” the New York Times reports. Ohh boy. Finally, the NCAA touchdown pass record holder, Dillon Gabriel (I know he played six seasons get over it.)

I remember the exact moment I promised myself that I would never stop believing in Dillon Gabriel. It wasn’t the statistics that jumped off the screen, it was the leadership he showed on an incredibly massive stage. It was the Red River Rivalry against the #3 Longhorns in 2023. He ran for 113 yards and threw for 285. I know, not like a crazy stat line I honestly thought it was better but he had some throws on the run that were so spicy and some nice ass spirals.

He actually had better stats that year than he did with Oregon when he was 3rd in the Heisman vote, people forget. With all of the drama surrounding Shedeur, I think he could benefit from being out of the spotlight and not having high expectations. He’s also dynamic with his feet and if he can get more comfortable with the deep ball he could be even better. People forget Russell Wilson was an undersized 3rd rounder too, and now he’s got a ring. He’s mid now but he’s got a ring.

I’m not saying Dillon Gabriel is gonna start week 1 because he won’t, but in a QB room full of question marks, I don’t see why he can’t come out on top by the end of the year. The Browns are not going to be good at all and will be forced to look at different options at QB down the stretch. Their week 1 starter will not be starting for long, and I think that will lead to loads of opportunities for Gabriel to prove himself. He’s going to get a shot this year, and I’m hoping he shows some signs of one day being a good NFL QB. I don’t see why he couldn’t.