Dawgs By Nature
The Cleveland Browns are doing a strong job of positioning the franchise for its next attempt at fixing the quarterback position in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Heading into this weekend’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, the Browns have lost five of their last six games to fall to 2-7 on the season. In addition to the Baltimore game, the Browns still have to play the Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills, and Cincinnati Bengals, so the losses may continue to pile up.
Each defeat helps Cleveland’s draft standing, of course, with the Browns currently holding the second-highest chance of securing the No. 1 overall selection next spring. Among the teams the Browns are competing against are the Tennessee Titans, New York Jets, and Las Vegas Raiders.
Cleveland’s loss to the Jets last week helped, and the Browns still have games against the Raiders in Week 12 and the Titans in Week 14, so if they play their cards right, the Browns will see their odds continue to increase.
The Browns also hold the first-round selection of the Jacksonville Jaguars, which is currently slotted at No. 19 overall but could improve as the Jaguars have lost three of their last four games and placed rookie Travis Hunter on injured reserve this week with a season-ending knee injury.
With everyone expecting/accepting that the Browns will be back in the quarterback market again in 2026, the question remains about what to do with the quarterbacks currently on the roster, specifically Dillon Gabriel, who has started the past five games.
That is a question being pondered not only locally, where a day can’t go by without a talking head crafting so new outrage about why fifth-round draft choice Shedeur Sanders is not playing, but also on a national level.
Two recent examples include articles from ESPN and The Athletic.
Starting with ESPN, Bill Barnwell examined 11 teams that could either seek to replace their current starter or bring in competition for a starter who may not be replaceable due to contract issues.
Falling under the category of “placeholders for someone more exciting” is none other than young Mr. Gabriel:
Gabriel inherited the quarterback job in Cleveland by default after the Browns decided to trade Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco. I’m not sure the Browns can be terribly disappointed by what they’ve seen in his five starts. The third-round rookie hasn’t been good, taking sacks on nearly 9% of his drop-backs and running a league-low success rate of 33%, but Gabriel has also protected the football, turning the ball over only twice across those five matchups. Given that the Browns are relying on their defense to win games, ending drives with kicks isn’t the worst thing in the world.
There’s a big difference between being worth a roster spot and proving yourself to be a franchise quarterback, of course, and Gabriel looks more on track for the former than the latter. The Browns have two first-round picks as a product of...
