The Cleveland Browns entered the season with a big need for a quarterback. That’s why, despite having Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett there, they also drafted after Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
Both picks were a bit of a surprise at the time. Not many people had Gabriel going in the third round – some even had him going undrafted – and even fewer people thought Sanders would slip to the No. 144 spot.
That’s why, after watching how both of them have fared this season and all the controversies around them, former NFL player Emmanuel Acho believes they simply cannot coexist.
Talking on his “Speakeasy” show, he put the Browns on blast for their management of this situation:
“Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders cannot coexist. Shame on the Browns for trying to make those two coexist. The Browns have put Shedeur and Gabriel in a position where those two cannot coexist, and it would be inhumane to try to ask those two to coexist. You got a third-round pick and a fifth-round pick, but the fifth-round pick is more talented than the third-round pick. It doesn’t make sense, and you’re asking those two to coexist? You put two lions in a cage and one piece of meat, and you say, ‘Go.’ How’d that make sense?” Acho said.
"Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders CANNOT coexist"
– @EmmanuelAcho says the Browns have been nothing but divisive in the handling of Gabriel and Shedeur this season
WE ARE LIVE RIGHT NOW IN THE SPEAKEASY COME JOIN THE CONVERSATION ➡️ https://t.co/UCyknlCVSC pic.twitter.com/poSqL5XW98
— Speakeasy (@speakeasytlkshw) December 2, 2025
Taking two quarterbacks in the same draft isn’t anything new. However, most of the time, teams take a clear-cut starter and a clear-cut backup.
This wasn’t the case at the time. Gabriel was always expected to be a backup at the next level, but the Browns thought of him as a starter. Sanders, on the other hand, was always going to aim for a starting job, and he was going to come with plenty of unwanted attention.
This was a messy situation from the very beginning, and it’s hard to believe everybody in the building was on the same page. If anything, it feels like one was a pick by the head coach, and the other one was a pick made by the general manager.
The worst part is that the Browns are no closer to finding a franchise quarterback, as neither of them might be the player they need.
NEXT: Insider Believes Browns Could Pursue Former First-Round QB
