There was a time during last season when the Oregon Ducks fans chanted only one name. That’s Dillon Gabriel. After all, the 23-year-old young chap shot up to success, making NCAA history in the Oregon Ducks’ massive victory over Maryland. With an 11-0 record, Dan Lanning’s program was back in the spotlight, and Gabriel has been a major reason why. The 24-year-old broke the NCAA record for total career touchdowns on a three-yard pass. So, the Ducks knew how it would be painful a goodbye for them. However, at the same time, they are proud as Gabriel was able to leave Shedeur Sanders behind and land with the Cleveland Browns in the third round, 94th overall. But it’s time for Cleveland GM Andrew Berry to put down the rose-tinted glasses about Gabriel.
Do you remember Oregon’s big 39-18 win over Maryland? Gabriel’s TDs were enough to pass Case Keenum’s record. In his three seasons in UCF, two in Oklahoma, and one in Oregon, the quarterback came up with a solid resume of 18,722 yards and 155 touchdowns. AMAZING! But considering the hype of the quarterbacks available in the NFL Draft this season, like Shedeur, Cam Ward, Gabriel, landed in the backseat. But someone continued to believe in the quarterback and did his best to propagate the signal-caller as much as possible on the Draft Day. That’s none other than Will Stein, Oregon’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Andrew Berry asked about any concern with Dillon Gabriel’s height
He didn’t feel like it “showed up on the tape at UCF”
I have a bad feeling it will show up in the NFL
— Matt Fontana (@MattFontana83) April 26, 2025
Well, he was aware of the fact that Gabriel wasn’t getting picked tonight, i.e, in Round 1. But he cooked up an atmosphere of FOMO. As he posted an IG story by putting up a picture of himself and his former quarterback. The caption read, “Can’t wait to see where @dillongabriel goes in the #nfldraft. Whoever takes him is getting a straight WINNER #ballersball.” And guess who gave in to the fear? None other than the Browns. Yes, it was definitely a surprise move by Berry. Gabriel was pegged by many analysts as a Day 3 talent, but landed quite early. On top of that, he found a home before one of the most hyped pre-draft prospects, Shedeur. It’s now time for the GM to swallow the bitter pill. National analyst Matt Fontana sounded an alarm with a tweet. It read, “Andrew Berry asked about any concern with Dillon Gabriel’s height.”
But the Cleveland GM did not find the factor to be worrisome enough. Fontana noted Berry’s reaction, “He didn’t feel like it “showed up on the tape at UCF”.” But maybe it’s now time for the GM not to hold a laid-back attitude when it comes to Gabriel. As the analyst addressed the elephant in the room, “I have a bad feeling it will show up in the NFL.” Are they concerned about Gabriel’s talents? Nope. The main gripe for executives has been his height, listed at 5-11, being one of the shorter quarterbacks of the draft class. While he came off with flying colors in college, his size is going to limit his ability in the NFL. The average height of a starting quarterback is 6’3″ in the pro league. Right now, the tallest are Jacksonville Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence and San Diego Chargers’ Justin Herbert, both measuring 6’6.”
But is Gabriel concerned with his height? Not at all. Rather, he assured, “I’ve had a lot of experience, I’ve done it at every level. Nothing’s gonna change at the NFL level.” So, instead of focusing on the noise, the quarterback is busy sending a message.
Dillon Gabriel seizes his moment with a mic-drop message
Well, we have all been aware of the Shedeur Sanders craze, right, folks? The Colorado quarterback hailed him as the top pick. But the analysts could sense an impending doom for the quarterback. That’s when his draft stock started to witness a downward trend. But Shedeur, being Shedeur, was never ready to accept the reality. When Field Yates predicted that he will be landing as the No.6 pick, his reaction was, “That’s crap bruh I ain’t going 6.”
As expected, the Tennessee Titans selected Miami (FL) quarterback Cam Ward at No. 1 overall on the first day. After which the drama started to began. The New York Giants traded into the first round to select Jaxson Dart in another not-so-surprising move. But little did the fans realize that their favorite Shedeur would fall out in the first round. Maybe the courtesy goes to Tom Pelissero’s report. More surprisingly, when Gabriel heard his name, even though he was the last quarterback to be drafted on April 25th night. So, this was enough for Gabriel to zip up the haters.
After the selection, the former Oregon quarterback took to X with a two-word message. On April 25, Dillon Gabriel tweeted, “Ba- – – s B- – -.” The Browns had five quarterback meetings which were well-known. Four of those quarterbacks, however, were gone by the time it was their turn to pick. In Cleveland, right now, it will be the fight of the appropriate player to play quarterback for the Browns. It’s either Gabriel, or one of Joe Flacco or Kenny Pickett at this point. Can Gabriel rise above the height talk and lift Cleveland to new heights?
The post National Analyst Cautions Andrew Berry Over Ignoring NFL Reality While Dismissing Major Dillon Gabriel Concern appeared first on EssentiallySports.