The Cleveland Browns finally announced their official quarterback depth chart.
Joe Flacco had already been named the starter, but there was still some speculation regarding the QB2 spot.
With Kenny Pickett traded away, that distinction went to Dillon Gabriel, followed by Shedeur Sanders.
Gabriel has been a pleasant surprise, and it seems like he’s as good as the team hoped he’d be.
Moreover, the third-round pick from the 2025 NFL Draft has earned the respect of his peers.
Asked about Gabriel, undrafted rookie wide receiver Gage Larvadain praised him with four inspiring words.
“Great teammate, great person,” Larvadain said. “And then when you go to football, super-poised, super-confident in himself, which is super important. (The two-minute situation) was great execution by him. And anytime in the two-minute situation, quarterback is hard enough, but when you’re working against the clock too, it’s so impressive to just get any points, and for him to go down there and score a touchdown in two minutes is super impressive.”
The Browns’ decision to draft Gabriel where they did was frowned upon at the time.
It looked like a reach, and some teams reportedly didn’t even have the Oregon product on their draft board.
Fast forward to today, and Cleveland’s decision is looking much better.
The Browns were impressed with his work ethic and production, and he has done a solid job of getting up to speed despite missing time in the preseason due to a hamstring injury.
Of course, that’s not to say that he’s ready to take the field in an NFL regular-season game, or that he’s going to become a star, but so far, he’s silenced his critics and earned an important role.
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