If there is one truly forgotten player on the Cleveland Browns heading into the 2026 season, it is quarterback Dillon Gabriel. Despite the best efforts of the organization to maintain that he is actually a part of the competition to become the starting quarterback, he has been an afterthought in the coverage of a two-man battle between Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders.
It’s an interesting development when you consider that Gabriel was the choice over Sanders when the Browns decided to bench Joe Flacco early last season. There’s also a chance that Sanders never would have started a game had Gabriel not been placed in concussion protocol in Week 11.
Having Gabriel well ahead of Sanders is still the preference of at least one observer, with former NFL scout Daniel Kelly offering an unfiltered opinion on the Browns’ QB battle.
“As a former NFL Scout: Give me Dillon Gabriel over Shedeur Sanders every day of the week and twice on game days,” Kelly posted.
As a former NFL Scout—
Give me Dillon Gabriel over Shedeur Sanders every day of the week and twice on game days.
— FIRST ROUND MOCK (@firstroundmock) June 11, 2026
Gabriel was selected in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, as a preference of head coach Kevin Stefanski, two rounds before Sanders. He maintained that position ahead of him throughout most of that preseason and took over as QB1 after Flacco’s slow start. The veteran was eventually traded to the Cincinnati Bengals.
The rookie took over as the starter in Week 5, and in 10 appearances, he completed 59.5 percent of his passes for 937 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. By comparison, after making his first start in Week 12, Sanders finished the year with a 56.6 percent completion percentage, 1,400 yards, seven TDs and 10 INTs. Perhaps more importantly, the Browns won three of Sanders’ seven starts, while they won just one of Gabriel’s six starts.
Despite declaring an open competition for the starting job, new head coach Todd Monken seemed to have whittled it down quickly. It looked like he was bound to name Watson the winner before training camp even began, but he backed off that desire during the recently completed final minicamp and will make a decision when the team reconvenes in July.
There is a chance Gabriel will not make the final 53-man roster coming out of camp, with a trade possible, which would complete quite a journey with the Browns in a little more than a year.
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