There’s a quarterback competition going down for the Cleveland Browns this summer, and instead of letting things play out, people are already picking sides. Since Joe Flacco is 40 and Kenny Pickett is on his third team in three years, the majority of people are pinning their hopes on one of the two rookie quarterbacks Cleveland drafted: Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
Chris Trapasso, an NFL writer for CBS Sports, recently declared which Browns rookie QB he’s leaning towards in a piece looking at the best- and worst-case scenarios for rookie quarterbacks who have a chance to see the field. Trapasso assumed each QB got a sizable opportunity starting, and predicted what their stats would be if everything went right and if everything went wrong.
He didn’t hide his thoughts on Gabriel in comparison to Sanders, giving Sanders the higher ceiling and the higher floor. Trapasso even explicitly said, “In my estimation, Sanders was clearly the better NFL quarterback prospect (despite the fact he was picked two rounds later).”
Here’s a look at Trapasso’s best- and worst-case scenario projections for both rookie quarterbacks if they each had 325 passing attempts.
1.Dillon Gabriel
Best-case scenario: 64% completion, 6.8 yards per attempt, 2,210 passing yards, 10 TD passes, 7 INTs, 36 sacks, 85.0 rating
Worst-case scenario: 57% completion, 5.9 yards per attempt, 1,917 passing yards, 6 TD passes, 8 INTs, 40 sacks, 69.9 rating
2.Shedeur Sanders
Best-case scenario: 65% completion, 7.0 yards per attempt, 2,275 passing yards, 13 TD passes, 5 INTs, 24 sacks, 92.2 rating
Worst-case scenario: 58% completion, 6.2 yards per attempt, 2,015 passing. yards, 10 TD passes, 10 INTs, 39 sacks, 73.5 rating
CBS Sports argues that Shedeur Sanders has a higher ceiling and floor than Dillon Gabriel
Trapasso believes Sanders is the better quarterback, so he had him outperforming him in every scenario. However, the writer did praise both of the quarterbacks for their anticipatory abilities, and argued that it would be the key to any success they have in Kevin Stefanski’s offense.
Ultimately, the better quarterback should be determined by what happens on the field. Cleveland has argued that everyone in the quarterback room will have a fair shot at winning the job, so if that’s the case, the two rookies will be able to prove who’s better.
