Dillon Gabriel is the forgotten man in Browns’ QB battle, and that might be his biggest advantage

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Everyone is so locked in on Deshaun Watson versus Shedeur Sanders that they’re completely sleeping on Dillon Gabriel. And that might be a mistake.

Orange and Brown Talk podcast host Dan Labbe posed the question, and it’s one worth taking seriously: “Is there a chance that Dillon Gabriel could get in that building on April 7th and, over the course of these two months, impress this coaching staff enough that he could put himself into this competition?”

Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot’s answer? Absolutely.

“He’s hungry. He’s got something to prove. Everybody’s written him off already in this competition, and he’s a competitive guy,” Cabot said, breaking down why Gabriel shouldn’t be dismissed so easily.

Here’s the thing about Gabriel: he’s wired differently than most quarterbacks. When the Browns drafted him, the biggest selling point wasn’t his arm or his mobility, it was his brain. Gabriel is a film junkie with elite processing speed, the kind of guy who thrives in meeting rooms and on whiteboards before he ever steps onto the field.

And guess what the first two weeks of Cleveland’s offseason program consist of? Meetings. Film study. Classroom work. Lifting.

That’s Gabriel’s playground. If there’s ever a time for him to make an impression on Todd Monken and this coaching staff, it’s right now, when the competition is more mental than physical. By the time OTAs roll around and they start actually throwing the ball, Gabriel could have a head start on the playbook that neither Watson nor Sanders can match.

Cabot made another crucial point that often gets overlooked when evaluating Gabriel’s brief stint as Cleveland’s starter last year: he had almost nothing to work with. The offensive line was a mess. Jerry Jeudy wasn’t himself. The play-calling was stale. Andrew Berry has repeatedly referenced getting his quarterbacks into “an operational offense,” a not-so-subtle dig at how dysfunctional things were in 2025.

Gabriel, like Joe Flacco before him and Shedeur Sanders after, was thrown into a bad situation and expected to make magic happen. That’s not a fair evaluation of what he can actually do.

Now imagine Gabriel in a competent offense, with better protection, better weapons and a coordinator who actually knows how to maximize his skill set. The evaluation changes completely.

And let’s not forget: Gabriel is competitive as hell. He’s not walking into that building thinking he’s the third guy. He’s walking in thinking he can win this thing. That kind of mentality pushes everyone, including Watson and Sanders.

The Browns have been very deliberate about including Gabriel whenever they talk about the quarterback competition. Andrew Berry has repeatedly said that anyone on the roster has a chance to compete for a starting job. Monken has mentioned Gabriel multiple times. This isn’t lip service. Cleveland genuinely hasn’t ruled him out.

Could the Browns still draft another quarterback and trade Gabriel on draft weekend? Sure. But until that happens, he’s in the mix. And anyone who thinks they know how this competition is going to shake out is kidding themselves.

Dillon Gabriel is the quiet guy. The one nobody’s talking about. The one everyone has already written off.

And those are always the most dangerous guys in the room.

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Dillon Gabriel is the forgotten man in Browns’ QB battle, and that might be his biggest advantage

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