Browns Warned About QB Dillon Gabriel After Minicamp
Colin Cowherd believes the Cleveland Browns may have stumbled upon their long-term answer at quarterback in Shedeur Sanders and he’s urging the team not to screw it up.
After passing on Sanders multiple times in the draft, the Browns ultimately selected him in the fifth round, two rounds after taking Dillon Gabriel. Despite being a later pick, Sanders has drawn mainly positive reviews throughout OTAs and minicamp, and Cowherd believes he’s been the best quarterback on the roster.
“The coach and GM did not want to draft Shedeur Sanders,” Cowherd said during a segment where he compared the situation to stumbling upon an unexpected solution. “And they did in the fifth round, two rounds after Dillon Gabriel. And he’s crushing it. He’s their best quarterback in camp.”
The Browns appeared to enter the draft favoring Gabriel, but Cowherd says it’s time to throw out any preconceived notions based on resumes. He noted the stark contrast in their collegiate circumstances. Sanders played behind a porous offensive line with limited help, while Gabriel thrived on a stacked Oregon team.
“You have to be careful about Dillon Gabriel. When you talk about Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel, they did not have similar college experiences,” Cowherd said. “Shedeur had Travis Hunter and a bunch of non-Sunday players. Dillon Gabriel went from powerhouse Oklahoma to powerhouse Oregon. And Oregon had 10 guys drafted — NFL receivers and left tackles.”
Shedeur Sanders Taking Patient Approach With Browns
Sanders is not only competing with Gabriel but also with veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett. Sanders has received limited reps and very little time with the starters. But he understands that he faces an uphill battle and is willing to take a patient approach to finding his footing at the NFL level.
“Life is just based on how you view different things,” Sanders said after the Browns’ first mandatory minicamp practice. “So you can view things as you’re not getting reps in a negative way or you can view it as, OK, when it’s my time to get out there, let’s be proactive and let’s get warm, let’s get going.
“So, there’s no excuses because when you get out there, nobody cares how many reps you got whenever you get in the game. Nobody cares if you took a snap before. Everybody cares about production. So that’s the main thing when you get out there: You got to be able to produce.”
Browns Downplay Shedeur Sanders’ Lack of Reps
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski has repeatedly praised Sanders for his work ethic since he arrived in the building. The Cleveland skipper has also said not to pay too much attention to rep counts and who is at the front of the line during this part of the team’s preparation.
“We’ve approached this offseason differently where we’re trying to be in evaluation mode and see different guys,” Stefanski said during an appearance on Cleveland Browns Daily.” “When you get to training camp it evolves. I have some dates where we’ll certainly make some decisions. The fun part is we get three games with these guys to see live reps. The practices against Carolina and two against Philly will be valuable as well. Our mentality will change in late July and August.”
The Browns wrapped up mandatory minicamp on Thursday. Cleveland has not announced its training camp dates, but it’s expected to ramp up in July.
