Shedeur Sanders ‘looks sharper’ than Dillon Gabriel at mini camp

During minicamp on Friday, Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders reportedly had a better day than fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel.

Entering 2025, the Cleveland Browns are looking to get back on the right foot. Last season was a rocky one, most notably due to the uneven play at quarterback. Now, head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry have a completely rebuilt signal caller room. They acquired veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett this offseason before drafting Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders a couple weeks ago. As the team began rookie minicamp today, Sanders reportedly outshone Gabriel according to Browns beat writer Brad Stainbrook on X, formerly Twitter.

“Yes, it’s just the first day of rookie minicamp — but Shedeur Sanders looked sharper than Dillon Gabriel,” posted Stainbrook on the social media platform. “This is only the beginning. The competition is real, and it’s going to be one of the stories of the season.”

Sanders' draft slide was arguably the biggest story of this year's NFL Draft. Cameras from around the world were fixated on the former Colorado quarterback and his family as he dropped down the draft board, until Cleveland mercifully ended his wait in round five. This was after they took Gabriel from the University of Oregon in round three, shocking thousands, if not millions of people in the process. Is today's showing a preview to come for Sanders and the Browns?

Will Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel win Browns' crowded QB race?

In all actuality, today might not mean a lot. After all, it is one day of rookie minicamp. These players are just getting acclimated to their first taste of pro football. There is undoubtedly a lot that both signal callers are still learning when it comes to Stefanski's system. Nevertheless, the fact that Sanders made a good early impression could be a solid first step in his bid to go for the starting quarterback role.

If he does in fact win the role, it would be a mild upset most likely. Flacco likely has the inside track on it, as he showed that he can run the offense effectively during the team's playoff run two seasons ago. Yet, Sanders might be the better long-term bet. Will he pan out? Or will Gabriel seize the reins? At this point, anything seems to be possible in Cleveland.