{"id":16842,"date":"2025-05-02T02:57:11","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T02:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/16842\/"},"modified":"2025-05-02T02:57:11","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T02:57:11","slug":"on-time-and-on-target-inside-the-browns-surprising-dillon-gabriel-pick-that-divided-cleveland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/16842\/","title":{"rendered":"On time and on target: Inside the Browns\u2019 surprising Dillon Gabriel pick that divided Cleveland"},"content":{"rendered":"

CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 When the Cleveland Browns<\/a> selected quarterback Dillon Gabriel with the 94th overall pick in the NFL Draft, social media erupted with confusion and criticism. But on the latest Orange and Brown Talk podcast<\/a>, analyst Lance Reisland didn\u2019t hesitate to defend a pick he had been advocating for since early in the draft process.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just was big on Dillon Gabriel from the start,\u201d Reisland said on the podcast. \u201cHe throws the ball on time. And once again, production over potential … I don\u2019t care that he\u2019s not 6-4. I don\u2019t care that he\u2019s not 220. I don\u2019t care that he doesn\u2019t have a rocket arm. He throws it on time. He anticipates very well.\u201d<\/p>\n

This emphasis on timing and anticipation, rather than raw physical tools, appears to align perfectly with what head coach Kevin Stefanski prioritizes in his offensive system. As Reisland explained, \u201cI thought he was a guy in the right system, which I think Stefanski\u2019s system is … a quarterback you win with. It\u2019s not a quarterback you win because of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite standing under 6 feet tall, Gabriel\u2019s college production speaks volumes \u2013 throwing for over 18,000 yards and 155 touchdowns during his career at Central Florida, Oklahoma, and Oregon. Beyond the statistics, it\u2019s his footwork and ability to navigate the pocket that stands out on film.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got really good feet,\u201d Reisland noted. \u201cFor me, quarterback speed means absolutely nothing. It\u2019s how do you get out of the way and how do you change your launch points when you throw the football. And his footwork is impeccable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fellow analyst Tim Bielik echoed these sentiments, referencing Gabriel\u2019s performance against elite competition. \u201cHe was phenomenal,\u201d Bielik said of Gabriel\u2019s game against Ohio State the first time they played. \u201cMaking some really good throws. Pressure coming into his face. It didn\u2019t matter. He stood in there strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

The podcast delved into why the 94th pick specifically caused such controversy among fans. As host Dan Labbe explained: \u201cI think taking Dillon Gabriel at number 94 overall tells you something about how they value him … it\u2019s a little more than that because I still think this is a really valuable pick with really valuable players on the board for a team that still coming out of this draft needs a lot of things.\u201d<\/p>\n

The selection becomes even more intriguing considering the Browns would later select another quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, in the fifth round. This suggests the organization is taking multiple swings at finding their quarterback of the future after trading away the second overall pick earlier this year.<\/p>\n

BETTING: Dillon Gabriel is +830 on FanDuel<\/a> to start Week 1 for the Browns. Our complete list of Ohio sportsbook bonuses<\/a> will help you decide which sportsbook to use.<\/p>\n

Reisland believes the Gabriel pick ultimately reflects Stefanski\u2019s influence on the draft process: \u201cI think Dillon Gabriel gives him a guy that really fits his scheme, a guy he really likes … When you watch them in body language and scheme and what they want to do with the quarterback in terms of quick decisions and the footwork and things like that, Dillon Gabriel does it very well.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Gabriel\u2019s path to becoming a starter won\u2019t be easy, the podcast makes a compelling case that his skill set and football intelligence might make him a surprisingly good fit in Cleveland \u2013 one that skeptical fans should keep an open mind about.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the podcast for this week:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

If the player above doesn\u2019t work, you can listen to this week\u2019s podcast here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Football Insider newsletter free trial: Take a minute and sign up for a free trial<\/a> of our Football Insider newsletter, featuring exclusive content from cleveland.com’s Browns reporters.<\/p>\n

Note: Artificial intelligence was used to help generate this story from the Cleveland Orange and Brown Talk Podcast by cleveland.com. Visitors to cleveland.com have asked for more text stories based on website podcast discussions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEVELAND, Ohio \u2014 When the Cleveland Browns selected quarterback Dillon Gabriel with the 94th overall pick in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16843,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2054],"tags":[86,85,54,2337,7,1360,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-16842","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cleveland-browns","8":"tag-browns","9":"tag-cleveland","10":"tag-cleveland-browns","11":"tag-clevelandbrowns","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-lucas-oil-stadium","14":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114435997541920766","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}