When the Cleveland Browns chose to draft two quarterbacks in this past NFL draft
, in selecting both Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders, the topic of discussion was always going to be how the team was going to split reps evenly in a very crowded QB room. As far as the veterans go, quarterback Joe Flacco is likely the Week 1 starter, Kenny Pickett is likely going to be waived/traded (my guess is likely going to be cut), and the same can be said for Tyler Huntley.As far as the rookie quarterbacks go,
it’s an assumption many believe that both will be on the roster come Week 1, but in what order? Throughout the duration of minicamp, to OTA’s leading up to training camp, Gabriel has received most 1st team reps with a mixture of 2nd team reps, while Sanders has been relegated to 2nd, 3rd team reps but hasn’t received any 1st team reps. So why is that?
The Browns have a plan, but it’s flawed
It’s a plan that was flawed from the start, but the team is trying their best to make it work. Considering how bad the quarterback play was last season and how it derailed the entire season, the team decided to exhaust all of its options at quarterback.
Whether it was signing Flacco, trading for Pickett or drafting two rookies, the team wanted to explore all options. However, the plan was going to have flaws from the start.
Having to distribute reps evenly between all four quarterbacks was going to be difficult. It’s clear that Flacco was likely to start Week 1, but trying to get reps between the two rookies was always going to be a challenge. You can only have so many reps you can distribute evenly and it can disrupt the flow of the offense when you have a revolving door of quarterbacks playing with the 1’s and 2’s.
Browns like Gabriel & Sanders, but neither is likely the long-term answer
If I am wrong about this in the future, so be it. When the Browns drafted Gabriel in the 3rd round, it was a shock to everyone. The same can be said for Sanders when he fell all the way to the 5th round and the Browns traded up to get him. As far as who was better coming out of college, it’s clear Sanders was a better prospect than Gabriel.
Gabriel doesn’t have a ton of redeeming traits and he doesn’t have a high ceiling, but Sanders has some traits while having a low ceiling. Both quarterbacks are different, but neither should be considered the long-term answer for this team. Their draft positioning and Cleveland adding a second first-round pick in a trade down earlier in the NFL draft are proof of this thinking from the team.
Sanders got his opportunity in a live setting in the preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers and he took full advantage of it due to Gabriel being out nursing a hamstring injury. With Sanders having the performance he had in the preseason, it puts pressure on Gabriel to match or somewhat emulate the performance Sanders had if he gets a chance to play on Saturday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The entire QB situation is a complicated one, but the team will likely get clarity on this situation with the preseason winding down.
