Cleveland Browns' Dillon Gabriel Has 'Longer Leash' Than Shedeur Sanders
Cleveland Browns' Dillon Gabriel Has 'Longer Leash' Than Shedeur Sanders originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The most polarizing prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft was former Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Mocked by some to be top-five pick, Sanders fell all the way to the fifth round, eventually being scooped up by the Cleveland Browns, who had already taken Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the third round.
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It's still a big question mark on who starts, between the two rookies Sanders and Gabriel, or the two veterans in Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett.
On Wednesday, a report from ESPN's Kimberley A. Martin suggested that Sanders could be the Week 1 starting quarterback.
"Listen, in that building, there are people who believe that Shedeur can 100 percent be the starter of this football team," Martin said about the Browns during a Wednesday appearance on ESPN's "Get Up". "You said it's incumbent upon the Browns to put him in the situation. It's also incumbent upon Shedeur to do the work, which, talking to people in that building, they've said he is soaking up everything like a sponge."
According to a graphic posted by ESPN Cleveland on X, on Day 2 of open Browns OTAs, Gabriel led the four potential starting quarterbacks in passing attempts. Gabriel completed 11-of-20 passes, throwing three touchdowns and zero interceptions. Pickett had the second-most throws, going 9-of-15 with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Sanders wasn't far behind, completing 9-of-14 passes, finding the end zone thrice but throwing an interception.
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These stats could be meaningless, and Cleveland is obviously testing out all four quarterbacks to determine who deserves the job. During the latest edition of the "Orange and Brown Talk Podcast", Browns reporters Dan Labbe and Ashley Bastock noted that Gabriel likely remains ahead of Sanders in the depth chart due to his draft position.
"Where they draft these guys matters, and there's a reason they drafted them and they do care about that to an extent," Labbe explained. "Dillon Gabriel was a third-round pick. And so while we're sitting here saying he hasn't looked the best of these two quarterbacks and especially [Wednesday], he's also just got a longer leash and he's just got more room to not be, to maybe not be the guy they've envisioned yet. Because he was a third-round pick and that matters."
Related: Browns Offensive Triplets Labeled 'Depressing'
Related: Browns Coach Reveals Shedeur Sanders' Progress in Pro-Style Offense
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 6, 2025, where it first appeared.
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