Analysts explain Browns' handling of Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders during springtime workouts

Multiple stories previously made it known that 2025 fifth-round draft pick Shedeur Sanders was "very clearly fourth on" the Cleveland Browns' depth chart beneath veteran Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and 2025 third-rounder Dillon Gabriel during springtime workouts. 

On the latest edition of the "Orange and Brown Talk Podcast," Lance Reisland and Dan Labbe of the Cleveland Plain Dealer mentioned that Gabriel was the more "polished" of the two Browns rookie signal-callers leading up to the team's summer break. 

"He had his struggles (in the offseason program). They all had their struggles," Reisland said while discussing Gabriel's performances. "But fundamentally, you can see that he played in multiple programs, right? So he went from UCF (2019-2021), then he went to Oklahoma (2022-2023), then he finished his career at Oregon."

Reisland noted that Gabriel's college journeys helped him have an advantage over Sanders regarding "footwork from underneath center, the footwork in the gun, throwing from different launch points, three-, five-, seven-step drops, throwing boots and waggles."

While ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. was among analysts who viewed Sanders as a first-round talent back in April, some saw Gabriel at that time as a third-day pick. Reisland indicated that Gabriel's footwork and his experience with run-pass option plays were two reasons the Browns made the former Oregon star the 94th pick of this year's draft before Cleveland took a flier on Sanders at choice No. 144.

Labbe added that Gabriel "was very clearly being given...greater challenges than Shedeur Sanders was being given" during the offseason program. Gabriel also spent more time working with Cleveland's first-team offense and going against the club's first-team defense. 

For an article published on Tuesday, Labbe suggested that fans and other outsiders should "exclude the two rookies" for conversations about who will serve as the Browns' QB1 for their Week 1 game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7. As of Tuesday morning, FanDuel Sportsbook continued to list Flacco as a +110 betting favorite to get the nod for that matchup over Pickett (+200 odds). 

Barring injuries or an unexpected development, it sounds like Sanders supporters will be disappointed regarding his place on the Cleveland depth chart by the time the preseason wraps up in August.