Shedeur Sanders vs. Dillon Gabriel: Comparing stats, scouting reports of Browns QB draft picks

The Cleveland Browns drafted not one but two quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft.

In the third round, the Browns selected Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, and in the fifth, they ended Shedeur Sanders’ slide and took him in the fifth round. The two rookie quarterbacks will join a quarterback room that includes an injured Deshaun Watson, Joe Flacco, and Kenny Pickett.

Cleveland taking two rookie quarterbacks is more than a bit surprising, but there’s no question that the room could use a couple more signal-callers given Watson’s injury history and Flacco’s age. 

Let’s take a look at how Gabriel and Sanders compare as quarterbacks, as well as how they were viewed entering the NFL Draft.

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Shedeur Sanders college career

Sanders’ college career was especially unique, as his dad, Deion Sanders was his coach at two different schools for all four years. Sanders was also coached by his father in high school when Deion served as offensive coordinator, so this marks the first time in nearly eight seasons he won’t have his father guiding his development.

Sanders, along with his dad, started his career at HBCU Jackson State. Over two seasons there, he finished 23-3 as a starter, including a 16-0 record in SWAC games. At Jackson State, led the school to two conference titles, including the school’s first since 2007. He threw for 6,983 yards and 70 touchdowns with just 14 interceptions. He also had nine rushing touchdowns. 

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He followed his dad to Colorado, starting with the 2023 season. Although the Buffs got out to a hot 3-0 start, Colorado ultimately finished 4-8. Sanders had a decent season, throwing for 3,230 yards with 27 touchdowns and three interceptions, but he was one of the most sacked quarterbacks in the country, taking 56 on the season. 

His best college season came as a senior in 2024 when he threw for 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He rushed for another 100 yards with four scores and was named the Big 12’s Offensive Player of the Year. He led the nation with his 74 percent completion percentage, too. 

Dillon Gabriel college career

As far as experience goes, Gabriel has a whole two more seasons of collegiate experience over Shedeur. He’s also played at three different schools in UCF, Oklahoma, and Oregon. 

His career at UCF got off to a hot start, as he earned the starting job as a true freshman in 2013. In his first two seasons, he threw for over 3,000 yards with 61 passing touchdowns and just 11 interceptions. But in 2021, his season was cut short just three games into the season when he suffered a broken clavicle. He transferred to Oklahoma, where he played from 2022 and 2023. 

Gabriel had two great seasons at Oklahoma, throwing for 6,828 yards with 55 and 12 interceptions. He also established himself as more of a rushing threat, adding another 688 yards rushing with 18 touchdowns on the ground.

For his senior season, he opted to transfer to Oregon to play for Dan Lanning. He led Oregon to a Big Ten championship while throwing for a career-high 3,857 yards, 30 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He added seven rushing touchdowns. He finished third nationally in completion percentage (72.9)

Shedeur Sanders vs. Dillon Gabriel scouting reports

As far as a pure player ranking perspective, Sanders was ranked far above Gabriel overall. Per TSN’s Vinnie Iyer, Sanders was the No. 20 overall prospect in this year’s class, compared to Gabriel, who was 109th. Per CBS’ rankings, Sanders was 28th overall, and the second-best quarterback behind Cam Ward. Gabriel checked in at 161st overall and ninth among this year’s quarterbacks. 

As for the scouting report for both guys, although Sanders was ranked highly in several mocks, his scouting report was a bit all over the place. Various reports indicated Sanders was not a first-round talent, with others saying he was more of a Round 2 or even late-round pick. Here’s some of NFL.com Lance Zierlen’s scouting report on Sanders: 

Sanders possesses a baseline of poise, savvy and accuracy, traits that are integral in becoming an NFL starter. He’s slow-twitch with standard arm talent and a longer release, but he worked around those limitations with anticipation and accuracy. He plays with decent command from the pocket and finds his rhythm when working on-time and on-platform; that said, he will pass on profits and look for the big play too often. Average velocity and slower rip times mean tighter windows against faster athletes, so throwing off-platform or trying to do more than his arm talent allows is ill-advised. He’s tough and willing to take the hit to complete the throw once he’s locked into his target.

As for Gabriel, the one thing he does have a huge advantage over Sanders is collegiate experience. He’s played in 64 career games, compared to Sanders’ 23. Three different schools with three different schemes is an advantage to NFL teams looking for guys to learn a new system. The one thing that Gabriel is lacking is size. He’s just 5-foot-11, making him the shortest signal-caller in this class and the third lightest. He also doesn’t have a big arm, similar to Sanders. Here’s NFL.com’s scouting report on Gabriel, via Chad Reuter: 

His field vision is average, but he typically takes care of the football. He’s capable of playing within the confines of an offense and can create yards with his legs as needed. Gabriel’s accuracy and timing is accurate on shorter throws, but the placement becomes erratic when pushed outside of his comfortable range. He might require a ball-control passing game to help manage his lack of arm talent and keep him from throwing into closing windows. He’s an effective scrambler who is able to elude pressure and make plays outside of the pocket. 

Sanders vs. Gabriel stat comparison

Shedeur Sanders stats

Dillon Gabriel stats

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