Browns Insider Reveals Why Shedeur Sanders Was Below Dillon Gabriel on Draft Board

The Cleveland Browns saw Dillon Gabriel as a safer bet than Shedeur Sanders, hence taking him two rounds ahead of the Colorado quarterback in the 2025 NFL draft.

Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot reported the Browns were concerned with Sanders' "negative plays." In addition to throwing 10 interceptions as a senior, the Buffaloes star was sacked 94 times in two years at the school.

Gabriel never finished with more than seven picks in a single season, and he had a 160.9 career passer rating across stints at UCF, Oklahoma and Oregon.

"He's played in multiple schemes, picked up new terminology quickly and hit the ground running in each of his stops," Cabot wrote. "He's extremely confident, has excellent leadership ability and has started an FBS-record 63 games. He's also tied Case Keenum for the all-time FBS record with 155 TD passes."

Cabot added that Gabriel will be ahead of Sanders in the depth chart when the Browns get their offseason workouts underway.

The report further underscores the divide between how people outside of the NFL evaluated Sanders and how those employed by teams scrutinized his game.

According to Cabot, the Browns didn't have any qualms about Sanders following their predraft meetings, which seems to have been the case with at least one team. He "liked the Browns from the jump, and brought the best version of himself to the table."

Head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry simply didn't see Sanders as a prospect who jumped off the page.

With Gabriel, there was a larger body of evidence thanks to him spending six years at the FBS level. He also consistently delivered at every stop, eclipsing 3,000 passing yards in five seasons. The exception was in 2021, when a broken clavicle limited him to three starts.

Gabriel's relative anonymity works to his benefit as well.

Sanders has yet to log a single NFL snap, yet he might be the most famous backup in the league right now. From an organization's perspective, why give yourself that kind of potential headache for a player you don't consider a surefire starter down the line.

Almost no one had Gabriel coming off the board before Sanders. Now that it has happened, the explanation is relatively straightforward.