Gabriel’s Response: Rookie Duel in Cleveland
August 17, 2025
Despite nursing a hamstring injury for a majority of the last few weeks, Browns 3rd round draft pick Dillon Gabriel was able to get healthy enough to earn the starting nod in week 2 against the Eagles. It almost felt like he had no choice but to play his butt off with Shedeur Sanders seemingly winning over the fanbase and coaches with his week 1 performance against Carolina. The last time we saw Gabriel in a starting lineup was when Ohio State put the beating on Oregon in the College Football Playoff last Winter. There were rumors about how seriously the Oregon Quarterback had taken his preparation for that matchup leading into it which may have had some impact on his draft process. Regardless, he’ll be given a shot in Cleveland to earn a roster spot, let’s discuss how he did.
Gabriel definitely came out looking like a nervous rookie the first two plays, taking on pressure causing him to get a bit too eager to try and run away. One thing he and many other rookies will learn quickly is that in the NFL, everyone is fast, and your speed can’t be relied upon anymore like it was in college. He was able to deliver a strike on a 3rd down play despite showing some happy feet in the pocket again. On the next 3rd down, Gabriel was able to deliver a strike to the sideline for another 1st down. He seemed to then settle in and get himself a good mix of easy completions while also delivering some beautiful touch passes.
The one thing I did notice is that he seems to be processing things a bit slowly at the moment which is to be expected of a quarterback in their first NFL game action. Gabriel tends to stare down his first read, which fortunately for him in the preseason, works against backups. It did come back to bite him on his lone interception where he stuck with his first read waiting for his receiver to come across and get open. He waited, waited, and forced the ball to him despite the wideout not getting enough room to make a play. The result was a touchdown in the other direction for the Eagles. The easy play there would have been to toss that ball out of bounds and live to play another down. He knows that and I’m sure that mistake won’t be made again.
Aside from taking a big sack, Gabriel responded well with his final two series of the half. He scanned, read the defense, went off his first read a few times for completions and was able to lead his offense to a field goal before half.
Overall, it was a very encouraging start for the rookie. We really got to see him learn from his errors and grow in real time as the game progressed. It’s too early to tell what this means with a few more weeks to go for the preseason. However, Gabriel seemed to answer the call and put the ball back in Sanders’ court. It’ll be game on from this point on for a roster spot.
Keith, Author
Keith runs youth flag football leagues by day, and by night he hosts the podcast and writes articles with the confidence of a man who’s been rushing quarterbacks since dial-up. A longtime flag football DE and lifelong Falcons fan, he’s no stranger to heartbreak and enjoys watching the bears get slaughtered each week. Equal parts coach, critic, and chaos, Keith calls it like he sees it… even if it hurts.
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