The Cleveland Browns did quite well in the 2025 NFL Draft, at least on paper.
Nevertheless, their decision to take Dillon Gabriel in the third round was questioned by many analysts.
He was projected to be available in the fourth and even the fifth rounds, and some even claimed the team reached by taking him as high as No. 94.
Moreover, the fact that he’s 5-foot-11 has also raised doubts about his ceiling at the next level.
However, NFL analyst Max Loeb believes his height won’t be an issue.
He took to social media to share a clip explaining why Gabriel could thrive in the pros despite being undersized to play the position:
“The more I watched Dillon Gabriel, the more I see the vision and lack of questions for his height,” Loeb said. “When you’re watching Dillon Gabriel, just the player [and] not looking at his height, you can see the decision-making is excellent, he’s got a great deep ball, he can throw on the run, but, ultimately, taking care of the football, winning the right way, is what Kevin Stefanski wants in a quarterback. If the Browns believe he has a good arm, he can make good decisions, and that height isn’t a problem, that pick makes a lot of sense.”
Dillon Gabriel’s height seems to be an issue… until you watch him play. pic.twitter.com/ysybHAiYwZ
— Max Loeb (@loebsleads) May 3, 2025
Granted, Gabriel’s height isn’t ideal, but he wouldn’t be the first undersized quarterback to make it in the NFL.
It’s easy to second-guess a player who stayed in college for so long, but that also means he played in a variety of offensive systems and has seen virtually all kinds of coverages.
Perhaps the other major concern about Gabriel is that he’s left-handed, and that makes up for an entirely different equation with the offensive line, but that didn’t seem to be an issue for guys like Steve Young or Michael Vick.
Of course it’s unlikely he will turn out to be as good as any of the aforementioned players, but there are precedents of players with the same so-called red flags who turned out to be just fine.
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