The Cleveland Browns will have the most exciting and hard battle for the starting quarterback position during the 2025 regular season, with four people that can potentially earn the job.
And that’s not even counting the fact that the franchise’s hope for the QB position, Deshaun Watson, is probably not going to be able to play next season due to a second Achilles tendon tear during his recovery from the first injury.
The fight will be between veteran and Super Bowl winner Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett – who the Browns traded for with the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for backup signal-caller Dorian Thompson-Robinson -, Dillon Gabriel – selected with the No. 94 pick overall -, and Shedeur Sanders, drafter during the fifth round with the 144 pick overall.
Dillon Gabriel predicted his pick number
Fans and draft experts alike were shocked when they saw that the Cleveland Browns took Dillon Gabriel – who played for the University of Central Florida, Oklahoma, and Oregon during his five years at the collegiat level – ahead of Shedeur Sanders.
It was already surprising that the Ohio team traded their No. 2 pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars, losing the chance to select cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter. But as crazy as it sounds, Dillon Gabriel predicted that the Browns were going to select him ahead of Sanders… well, kind of.
The NFL and the Cleveland Browns posted a video of Gabriel explaining where he would hang out with his friends to relax and enjoy nature in beautiful Hawai, his birthplace. One of the activities they got to do was bird call, as he showed to a person that was recording him, Dillon went on to say that he can understand what the birds said, and then the camera men asked him what were the animals saying. “Cleveland Browns, 94,” responded the QB. And he nailed it!
The Browns didn’t intend to draft two quarterbacks
The Cleveland Browns original plan was not draft two quarterbacks, according to executive vice president of Football Operations and general manager Andrew Berry. “You envision how the draft could possibly play out, and then you just really adjust to what’s on the board,” the man said.
“We don’t really go into the draft saying okay, like, ‘hey, here are our needs and we’re just going to pick players at need positions.’ If you do, that’s typically how you make mistakes. So, there is a little bit of a flow to the weekend because the board does take different twists and turns as you go,” he added.
The franchise didn’t originally think that Shedeur Sanders would be available in the fifth round, when the opportunity rose to make the trade and jump from No. 166 to No. 144, they took that chance. They had evaluated who else was available from a prospect standpoint, and as different names came off the board, considered the potential of taking Sanders. And now one of the most interesting internal battles in the NFL is about to begin.
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