The steep path Dillon Gabriel must navigate to win Browns’ QB1 spot

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Browns’ quarterback competition is heating up, and rookie Dillon Gabriel finds himself firmly in the mix — but with substantial obstacles standing between him and the Week 1 starting job. The third-round pick from Oregon may have captured the organization’s imagination with his football intelligence, but translating that into an immediate starting role presents a formidable challenge.

According to Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot on the Orange and Brown Talk podcast, Gabriel faces an uphill battle against experienced veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett. When asked about Gabriel’s chances of starting Week 1, Cabot was blunt: “I don’t think the chances are great because he’s a third round pick, he’s a rookie, he’s got things to learn. Why would you start a rookie ahead of two very, very experienced veterans, you’d have to have a really darn good reason to do that.”