Throughout the 2025 NFL Draft, a prominent storyline was the quarterback selections. In particular, former Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel being selected at No. 94 overall to the Cleveland Browns before former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders got drafted to the same team turned some serious heads.
Now, Gabriel and Sanders must battle it out on the field with former Philadelphia Eagle Kenny Pickett (who's contract option was not picked up after this year), NFL veteran Joe Flacco, and controversial (and currently injured) Deshaun Watson to earn a spot as the starting quarterback for the Browns.
It remains to be seen: will Gabriel have a higher ceiling of talent compared to Sanders. Senior reporter for Yahoo Sports, Jori Epstein, reports that talent scouts she spoke with favor Sanders for the job.
"Five different talent evaluators across the league agreed: Sanders has exemplified more talent and a higher ceiling than Gabriel," wrote Epstein. "Evaluators believed Sanders had the potential to develop into a quality starter while Gabriel’s ceiling was more likely at high-level backup. Each can be a system fit with Cleveland’s above-average offensive line."
Epstein also spoke with an unnamed NFC executive about the choice between Sanders and Gabriel, who argued doubling up on quarterbacks in the 2025 Draft was a smart move for the Browns given the upside of Sanders' talent.
“He's way more talented, especially for that value,” the unnamed executive told Yahoo Sports regarding Sanders. “This guy has a chance to end up being their starter, to be honest with you. But it's just a matter of the risk you take."
The Browns will conduct their rookie minicamp May 9-11 at their headquarters in Berea, when the real evaluation begins.
Cleveland's Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager Andrew Berry spoke further about drafting Sanders after Gabriel. Berry claimed that the Browns' strategy was to go for the best player available at the time of their pick, and Sanders was the right athlete at the right time.
"We live by our board. We felt like he was a good, solid prospect at the most important position. We felt like it got to a point where he was probably mispriced relative to the draft. Really, the acquisition cost was pretty light, and it's a guy that we think can outproduce his draft slot. Our expectation is for him to come in here and work and compete. Nothing's been promised. Nothing will be given," Berry said.
Berry cited both Gabriel and Sanders were selected by the program for their "accuracy" and "decision making" skills before emphasizing that the quarterback competition is an open race for all five quarterback selections.
Betting odds for the Cleveland starting quarterback trends in the direction of Flacco (+116) with the veteran earning NFL's Comeback Player of the Year in 2023 with the Browns Pickett (+220) follows behind Flacco with Sanders (+370) leading above Gabriel (+830) by a wide margin, on FanDuel. Watson does not have any odds listed, as he is dealing with a double-ruptured Achilles tendon and will likely not play for the 2025 season.
So, with Sanders' late drafting feeling based in factors argued to range outside of his talent, will the Browns decide to go with another controversial quarterback choice as Watson continues to be sidelined by injury?
For Duck fans, knowing Gabriel will be able to compete for the starting position can be a reassuring factor, as the six year NCAA football veteran has the opportunity to show the talent that earned him so many NCAA records during his Oregon tenure. Though concern still circulates about Gabriel's ceiling and his height becoming a more glaring problem in the NFL, time will tell if Gabriel can surpass Sanders for the title of "QB1".
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