The Cleveland Browns have a good problem on their hands right now.
Both of their rookie quarterbacks looked solid in their debuts.
And while neither of them seemed to be in the running to be the starter, the fact that both seemed reliable and in control of the offense is certainly encouraging.
With that in mind, former Texans QB David Carr shared his honest thoughts on Gabriel’s debut.
Talking on the NFL Network, the former Fresno State star tipped his hat to the third-round selection:
“Thought he looked great. His pocket presence on third down, perfect. The guy executed the offense. The management of the offense and how he ripped through progressions, I thought, was beautiful. For a young guy to go out there and play the way he did, obviously the numbers are what they are and you have to clean up the interception, but he made some great plays. Thought Dillon played great,” Carr said.
.@DCarr8 shares his thoughts on Dillon Gabriel's first half performance 👇 pic.twitter.com/vxnP5fpDgs
— NFL GameDay (@NFLGameDay) August 16, 2025
Gabriel completed 13 of 18 passes for 143 yards in just one half of football.
He completed eight of his first nine passes, made some quick decisions, and played mistake-free football for the most part.
Plenty of those completions came against backups, but he still did a good job of not trying to do something when it wasn’t there.
That’s, of course, except for the pick-six, as it came on a play in which he probably should’ve thrown the ball away instead of forcing a throw in between two players who were in the same area.
Other than that, it was an impressive first taste of NFL action for the Oregon product.
The Browns took Gabriel in the third round and have reportedly loved what they’ve seen from him so far, both on the field and as a hard-working young man.
He still has a long way to go, but after watching Shedeur Sanders do well in his debut, he also had to show what he had.
NEXT: Kevin Stefanski Gives Major Update About Browns' QB Decision
