Cleveland selected Dillon Gabriel at pick 94 in the 3rd round
The Cleveland Browns selected Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel with the 94th overall pick in round 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Gabriel is one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the 2025 class, having played in 64 total games throughout his six-year career at UCF, Oklahoma, and Oregon. One of his most sought-after traits has been his ability to protect the football by limiting turnover-worthy throws.
He’s also pretty effective with his legs, both when he’s evading pressure in or around the pocket and on designed runs. Gabriel has made a lot of exciting plays throughout his career by escaping pressure and keeping his eyes downfield to find open receivers following a broken play.
Despite being an older and smaller quarterback, he’s played extremely well within structure wherever he’s been.
Browns got an ELITE talent in Dillon Gabriel pic.twitter.com/4QSLvBXX0q
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) April 26, 2025
Name
Dillon Gabriel
Position
Quarterback
Height/Weight
5’11”, 205 lbs.
College
University of Oregon
2024 Stats: 14 games: 3857 passing yards, 72.9% comp., 8.6 Y/A, 30 TDs, 6 INTs
Career: 64 games: 18722 passing yards, 65.2% comp., 8.9 Y/A, 155 TDs, 32 INTs
Relative Athletic Score
Dillon Gabriel is a QB prospect in the 2025 draft class. He does not qualify for a #RAS due to a lack of measurements.https://t.co/kwfjH5SUlL pic.twitter.com/KkvtsrDNEh
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 7, 2025
Average “Big Board” Position As of Publishing Date from Mock Draft Database
The Draft Network’s Pre-Grade Draft/Round Value
Day 2 — Adequate Starter
What an Expert is Saying
“Gabriel is a challenging scheme projection. He doesn’t have the arm to match his eye for the shot plays down the field and will need to play with better timing on these plays to get the ball up and down before defensive backs fall off.
Physically, he’s a fit for a west-coast, play-action-heavy offense, but his stature creates challenges with seeing the intermediate middle of the field cleanly. I would attempt to groom him in a Shanahan scheme as a developmental backup and optimize his understanding and anticipation. If he needs to play, I would lean heavily on the run game and his ability to get outside the pocket. ” – Kyle Crabbs, The 33rd Team
Fit with the Browns
The team entered the offseason with an incredible amount of uncertainty at the quarterback position, and the Dillon Gabriel selection doesn’t seem to clarify much on the surface.
They haven’t added anyone of note in free agency, but seeing that the Browns used a third-round pick on Gabriel suggests that he could be a legitimate option to see the field in 2025. It’s undoubtedly going to be interesting to see how the quarterback depth chart looks throughout the summer months.
Browns Player Drafting Could Impact
It’s difficult to try and predict what Gabriel’s ultimate role will be with Cleveland. He has a decent enough skillset to stick as a long-term backup, depending on how things shake out with Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco in 2025.
As mentioned above, it looks like the Browns could be ready to give him a real shot at starting some games at some point based on where he was drafted.
What are your thoughts on Dillon Gabriel? Join fellow Browns fans in the comment section below.