Shedeur Sanders Gets Bad News in Early QB Battle With Dillion Gabriel

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
The Cleveland Browns have a good deal to sort out this offseason, though perhaps the question most pertinent to the future of the franchise involves its two rookie QBs.

Shedeur Sanders, a fifth-round pick out of Colorado, and Dillon Gabriel, a third-rounder out of Oregon, began their battle for the title of top incoming signal caller at the team’s rookie minicamp over the weekend. And while some early reports suggested that Sanders appeared the superior player on Day 1, others believe that Gabriel was clearly the better QB over the course of the weekend.

One of those in Gabriel’s camp is Tony Grossi of 850 ESPN Cleveland and The Land on Demand. He made his case for Gabriel on Monday, May 12.

“I thought, [on] both days, Dillon Gabriel looked a little bit better,” Grossi said. “He throws a tight spiral, he throws a beautiful ball, he’s very assertive. He knows the pocket. You could tell that even though they’re not rushing. He just has a pocket presence.”

 
Dillon Gabriel Offered Several Thoughts on Shedeur Sanders Over Rookie Minicamp Weekend
 
GettyQuarterback Dillon Gabriel of the Cleveland Browns.
Both Gabriel and Sanders spoke with media members over the weekend, and reporters asked each young QB questions about the other.

Gabriel’s initial reaction to a question about his thoughts on Cleveland drafting Sanders shortly after selecting him was brimming with both confidence and team spirit.

“Yeah, I love it. You know, I love it because of who it is,” Gabriel said. “I think just for us both, you can learn from one another. But also, it’s not just us two in the room. At least for right now it is, but going into the year Kenny [Pickett], Joe [Flacco] and even Deshaun [Watson] — just a bunch of guys who played a bunch of ball that we can all learn from one another.”

Later in the session, Gabriel shut down questions about direct comparisons between himself and Sanders.

“I think the more questions I get asked like that, it just divides the team,” Gabriel said. “We’re in a room full of not just us, but Kenny, Joe and Deshaun. And for us, we know how important a healthy QB room is, but also a team that you want to be a part of.”

 
Shedeur Sanders Also Spoke on Dillon Gabriel During First Weekend With Browns
 
GettyCleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Sanders also faced questions about Gabriel, with whom he will compete and against whom he will be judged likely for multiple NFL seasons to come.

“Cool. Yeah, even normal,” Sanders said of his early interactions with Gabriel. “He’s a real cool guy overall. You could tell he always have a great mood. He’s always in a good mood. I only been around two days though, but he always has a great mood. But overall, I could tell he’s a pretty good person.”

Sanders and Gabriel won’t just be competing with each other, but also with Flacco and Pickett for roster position and potentially the right to start games as QB1 in the 2025 season.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group's family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible