Cleveland Browns: Eyes Will Be on Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel at Minicamp
Eyes will be riveted on the quarterback competition between Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel when the Browns hold their rookie minicamp May 9-11.
Cleveland drafted Gabriel in Round 3, then ended the much-discussed fall of Sanders in the draft by taking him in Round 5.
It remains to be seen where Gabriel and Sanders will land in the Browns’ quarterback pecking order that also includes ex-Raven Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett. However, rookie minicamp will give Sanders and Dillon a chance to make a strong first impression, and General Manager Andrew Berry will be watching closely.
“We felt like it wasn’t necessarily the plan going into the (draft) weekend to select two quarterbacks,” Berry said via Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com. “But as we talk about, we do believe in best player available, we do believe in positional value, and we didn’t necessarily expect him (Sanders) to be available in the fifth round. We love adding competition to every position room and adding him to compete with the guys that are already in there. We felt like that was the appropriate thing to do.”
The Browns drafted Gabriel higher than some draft analysts expected, but Berry was impressed with the former Oregon quarterback’s skillset.
“We really felt strongly about Dillon throughout this process,” Berry said.
In a conference call with Browns reporters, Sanders said he wanted to put his draft drama behind him and put his best foot forward. The higher he moves up Cleveland’s depth chart, the closer he gets to having an opportunity to prove his critics wrong.
“What fuels me is my purpose in life and understanding the route that we’re going to have to take,” Sanders said. “Understanding that I was able to get an opportunity when a lot of people didn’t want to give me an opportunity. So, that’s what I’m truly thankful for. That’s what fuels me.”