DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk 2025 NFL Draft Browns select QB Dillon Gabriel

5) Dillon Gabriel, QB, Cleveland Browns: The Browns used a third-round pick on Gabriel, who was one of the most prolific quarterbacks in college football history. There were sexier names on the board at the time -- including Colorado's Shedeur Sanders and Ohio State's Will Howard -- but this was the guy Browns GM Andrew Berry wanted in this spot. Gabriel makes this list because of the opportunity he's walking into. The Browns have Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco in the mix for a starting job, so it's not hard to see Gabriel factoring into that competition. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski also likes working with system quarterbacks -- think Kirk Cousins -- and that's exactly what Gabriel will be in this league. The Browns had a productive second day with picks like linebacker Carson Schwesinger, running back Quinshon Judkins and tight end Harold Fannin Jr. If Gabriel can develop into a reliable starter, then this will be a strong class for Berry.


https://www.nfl.com/news/2025-nfl-draft-winners-and-losers-from-day-2

Don't like this one at all. Gives me Kessler vibes - reaching for a small armed/short QB. Coulda gotten him in the 6th round

I don't think he is weak armed
He has a nice deep ball and can zip it in when needed

I think he gets the weak arm stigma because he throws with touch

Mike Renner agree with me


[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/shorts/csgG7EDH9s8[/video]

I've watched a tiny sample size - 20 minute highlights. But his touch jumps out to me - he really leads the receivers and has a nice touch when the guys are in the flats or shallow crossing routes. I was impressed. Stil going to be a challenge at 5'11" - but there is something to work with.

I know its a team game, but anybody at the QB position who can beat Ohio State impresses me. The last person I remember doing it was Mayfield.

fwiw

Dillon Gabriel Shatters QB Velocity Record With Insane 74.9 MPH Throw
January 29, 2025 | 6:24 PM EST

The Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen and the New England Patriots’ Joe Milton III held the previous record for fastest football throw at 62 mph during the NFL Combine. Dillon Gabriel shattered that record by throwing the ball at 74.9 mph at the Senior Bowl.


https://collegefootballnetwork.com/dillon-gabriel-shatters-qb-velocity-record/

Interesting conversation

They were measured in two different ways. I'll have to see if I can track the specifics back down. He doesn't have the absolute cannon of those guys.

Still Gabriel can absolutely sling it with zip.

Edit: www.oregonlive.com/ducks/2025/01/no...r-bowl-expert-explains-passing-data.html

I think an underrated aspect of the pick is I think he's a great personality/makeup fit with Stefanski. I can see how they'd hit it off. Seems like an all ball guy. Supposedly was named after Corey Dillon and his siblings also have NFL inspired names.

Maybe drafting a left handed QB allows us to keep D Jones at RT where he’s more natural…?

Dillon had a piece of rice for dinner and was too full for dessert. Jimmy liked that his food costs will be lower in the team’s cafeteria by drafting tiny players. With that he gave the thumbs up to draft him.

Dillon is a Brown now. I'm not enamored with the pick either but let's give him a chance and support him. Who knows we may finally get lucky with a QB.

I agree with you. This wasn't a collected effort at all. It's a bunch of individual efforts to bypass the chaos because it didn't match the talent. Kiper sounded like an idiot last night. That said, "collusion" becomes an object of circumstance. We've seen plenty of times a player falling and the fall itself seeming more toxic than the player himself. It is what it is.

I was so "checked out" of the process this year. The first tape I watched was Hunter. Two minutes into that I felt I had seen enough Sanders tape.

All that said, the wake up call is complete. Now a team like the Steelers or Raiders, someone with a strong pedigree, will draft him and check daddy at the door.

I thought that was interesting, too. How they could have drafted a QB without meeting or interviewing or working them out. Now I know that was not the case.

I also do not get this notion that he is weak armed. Dude has a really good arm and accurate from what I can see on tape.

I seem to remember someone in the media (or maybe on here) making the remark that we were just blowing smoke to make people keep guessing when we spent time with him. obviously not!

Yep. As soon as I read your edit it confirmed my initial thoughts. A chip in the ball is going to record exit velocity -- which is worlds different than a football flying past a radar gun.

No matter. The kid has a strong arm on short to intermediate passes. I don't think there will be passes in that range where his arm looks weak.


Also, to throw this in here, since I could easily quote about ten more posts in this thread:

100% his touch, anticipation and accuracy makes these floating balls give the impression of a weak arm. That's not the case at all. TBH, if these vids were in black and white I'd feel like I was watching football from the 60s and 70s... and there is not a damned thing wrong with that. Those are easily the most catchable balls. A half-second of process time can make Colt McCoy just as effective as Josh Allen. Fact.

Imagine those passes to someone like Fannin, who seems to have magnets in his hands? Njoku's biggest struggle was always with balls that were thrown with too much steam.


Fun fact I ran across... Fannin's ability to make catching footballs look so effortless had me search to see how those big hands are so soft. Easy -- they're not big hands at all -- they're in the lowest 11 percentile for NFL players at 9.125"

I am so tired of the Browns drafting these short QB's. Colt McCoy did not work out, Johnny Manziel was a disaster, Baker Mayfield was a mistake, and now Gabriel shorter than all the others. What a waste of a draft pick.

People can dislike this pick all they want. But at worst you have a very reliable backup QB on a four year rookie deal with a late third round pick. But this kid has the goods. Throwing the ball like a rocket is something anyone with a strong arm can do. But dropping a dime with touch is an art form. Those type of passes are much more catchable balls. And if there's one thing this kid has, it's touch.

Sure, people can say "there were better players on the board". At this juncture nobody knows if that's actually true. What they are really saying is that there were more highly rated players on the board. And who ranked those boards again? The media. The same media that had Sanders ranked as the #2 QB in this draft.

I find it odd how most everyone knows that many first round QB's drafted aren't the highest ranked players on the board. How teams in need of a QB will reach to draft a QB over more highly ranked players on the board from a talent evaluation perspective due to the position being the most important. But when the Browns do it at pick #94 suddenly it's an issue for some people? To me that just sounds insane.

Does anyone actually think that a team is looking at addressing their future franchise QB at pick #94? Sure it's fine to take a shot and this kid is worth taking a shot with. This kid has a great chance at surprising many people and the Browns did their homework on him.

There are smaller QB's who seem to have what I call "little man syndrome". Some think that's good. They feel some need to act tough, have "a chip on their shoulder" and attitude. We've all seen that play out here with Johnny Football. That isn't who this kid is. He seems to have his head squarely on his shoulders and seems to be all business. That makes a difference.

I think that this was a bad pick, especially using a 3rd round pick on him.

I am willing to be wrong .... but I don't think that this kid will be anything in the NFL.

I believe the Browns plan to work him out on the left handed QB stretcher. He could easily be 6'3" after that. Then you should be perfectly happy.

I don't mean to imply that his arm strength is better than Allen or Milton
But this is pretty good evidence that he isn't Cody Kessler

And to the poster criticizing short Qb's

Colt McCoy injured his throwing shoulder in that last bowl game he played and was never the same
Manziel issues had to do with his personality and attitude
Baker's issues was personality too though less so - more his and KS' relationship
None of that had to do with height unless you blame Baker and manziel on short man syndrome

It is probably obvious that I am Gabriel's biggest supporter on this board - maybe the biggest non related supporter in the country
But I agree that this pick could have been better spent after gaining Jax's 2026 first rounder

I would have taken Xavier Watts with this pick and tried to get Gabriel in round 4
If we lose out on Gabriel I would have targeted Roarke in round 6
Clearly the plan is to get our future backup with the a franchise guy next year

Aside: my issue with that plan is that the top 2 guys eligible for next year will and/or should come out in 2027 (Arch Manning and LaNorris Sellers)
The other guys are better than this group but none have that superstar potential - IMO

I agree with your takes on Dillion. I believe one of the values he has, the Browns may be looking for is a two QB play situation. one lefty and one righty.

Has anyone mentioned that he has the 2nd most overall passing yardage in college history.?

Looking at the drafted QBs since Couch, I'm more tired of the tall ones. The 1st round 6'3" clay pigeon dude that couldn't find his way out of the flag. The 1st round 6'3" Brady Quinn may have been worse. Or what about the 6'4" Deshone Kizer -- a wasted 2nd round pick that we tried to remedy (thank you, Sashi) by replacing him by wasting another 2nd and 3rd the very next season for 6'3" AJ McCarron.

I'm tired of never finding our fQB.


This is not what this pick is meant to be. Sure, the upside would be an unlikely possibility, maybe even a miracle, but that's not what we're banking on imo. This is a high IQ prospect that will earn himself a puncher's chance to succeed. He'll be a huge asset in the QB room and may become a solid backup -- one that will likely give an opposing DC a headache when he enters the game.


Also, not picking on you, just mentality in general -- people really need to get past draft slots -- there is a lot more involved than media-mouths and a slide rule. I think the psychology here was simple, as I've already stated, we were pretty sure he was on other's radar but went from drafting at the top of day three to the bottom of the round once we fleeced Jax. When you like somebody, go get him. It's the stupid mentality of draft value and bang for the buck that led directly to someone like Manziel being a "no brainer" with fans and the media because he dropped so much.

DTR 2

Nothing like DTR - nothing.

Living in Duck country I’ve seen this kid play a fair amount. He’s a baller. He can make throws. He’s also scrappy outside the pocket. Watch the first Buck’s game. He gave the D fits when he left the pocket. In the second game the Bucks D did a much better job of containing him and collapsing the pocket around him. Forcing him to step up… which makes his lack of height an even bigger detriment. That said, he still beat team after team after team both in the SEC, Pac10, and Big10. He can play. Can he play at the pro level? That’s yet to be determined.
I won’t lie, I hate tiny QBs. It frustrates me that when the Browns get a crack at the top of the draft there seems to be no consensus stud QBs, or the top ones are tiny or flawed in other ways. It’s just so Browns’ it Browns.
I’m expecting that next season the Browns will pull off 9 wins and the Jags will end up in the playoffs. Rendering any top QBs in the draft unreachable. Because Browns.

This is what salty looks like in print form.

So, what elite QB do we target in next year's first round?

Good Bye, we hardly knew ya!

Of all the QB's in this draft he's the one I've seen the most.
Howard I only really 'watched' when he became a Buckeye.
Of the two Gabriel is the guy I trust to get it done CORRECTLY.
Howard scared me at times w/ his progressions and decision making
Gabriel doesn't rattle, knows when to bail out, places the ball where it needs to be AND on time.
I said, while watching him DESTROY Ohio State, I loved him but that I didn't think he could transition to the NFL.
By the end of the season I wasn't so sure and hoped he'd get a shot.
One thing for sure, is that at every stop along his journey, his teammates would walk through fire for him.
The other is he's earned his Swagger, he's a Baller.

He's not going anywhere. Just because they drafted a scrub in round 5 didn't change anything.

Gabriel has the talent level of DTR, DTR got a free ride for a couple years. Gabriel now has real NFL level QB's to compete against.

Yet you posted that right after the Browns drafted Sanders. You're not fooling anyone here. Teams always have three QB's. Sometimes only two on the active roster but three on the teams total roster. If you think that Gabriel isn't much more talented than DTR you haven't been paying attention. That's a you problem. Everyone who has been paying attention knows better than that.