The Cleveland Browns quarterback room consists of Joe Flacco, Deshaun Watson, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
The selection of Sanders was a bit surprising, especially since the Browns drafted Gabriel in the third round, two rounds before taking Sanders.
Going into camp, it seems as if Gabriel is ahead of Sanders, which makes sense given he was chosen on Day 2 as Sanders went on the final day of the NFL Draft.
Moreover, there were some areas of concern with Sanders’ game, especially when compared to players such as Gabriel, as Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com pointed out.
“The thing that probably concerned the Browns the most about Sanders were the negative plays, namely the FBS-high 94 sacks he took in his two years at Colorado. Some of them can be blamed on the offensive line, but many were Sanders drifting backwards and getting himself into trouble. He was able to get away with it in college, but will have to quickly solve the problem with a quicker release and faster decision-making in the pros. He’ll also have to make more explosive plays to offset them. It’s one of the many reasons the Browns had Gabriel ranked higher than Sanders despite his size (5-11, 205) and drafted him ahead of Sanders at No. 94 in the third round.”
That wasn’t the only factor, either. When diving into the tape, the Browns were impressed with Gabriel’s arm strength.
“In addition to excellent accuracy and decision-making, Gabriel doesn’t take many negative plays, and makes enough big-time throws to be a quality NFL starter. His arm isn’t as strong as another small quarterback who passed through these parts — Baker Mayfield — but it’s plenty strong and somewhat surprising for his frame,” Kay Cabot added.
Browns OC Tommy Rees detailed what he is looking for at the position, although these comments were made in January, per Kay Cabot.
“At the end of the day, the quarterback’s job is to solve problems,” Rees said. “You’re going to be tasked 60, 70, 80 times a game to make a decision in a critical moment. And so I’ve always started with the ability to make quick decisions and make the right decisions. So if you said one thing over the other, I want a decision-maker at that position.”
So, the decision-making and high sacks of Sanders might’ve been a reason the Browns didn’t take him right away.
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