Dillon Gabriel receives all the first-team reps in practice because he's the starter, so the Browns have to find reps for QB2 Shedeur Sanders in other periods. (Cleveland Browns)
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Editor’s note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns and NFL analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
It’s not that unusual for a team to draft two quarterbacks in the same draft, as the Browns did this year with Dillon Gabriel in Round 3 and Shedeur Sanders in Round 5.
The New England Patriots, whom the Browns play Sunday in Foxborough, MA, drafted two in 2024 – Drake Maye in the first round and Joe Milton in the sixth round.
Since 1994, when the draft was shortened to seven rounds, teams selected two quarterbacks in the same draft 11 times.
But what is rare is having rookies at QB1 and QB2, which has been the Browns’ plight since GM Andrew Berry traded Joe Flacco to Cincinnati on October 7. Berry previously traded Kenny Pickett to Las Vegas, leaving the coaches with two developmental rookies at the game’s most important position.
“Yeah, especially when … you have to get a rookie ready to play in the games, help your team, and then you want to continue to develop the other one, who is one snap away,” said Tommy Rees, Browns offensive coordinator.
The challenges presented the coaches as a result of Berry’s trades came to light when coach Kevin Stefanski disclosed this week that Sanders – who is “one snap away” from playing – receives no practice reps with the first-team offense because the coaches need to devote all of them to Gabriel, the QB1, to prep for the opponent.
It wouldn’t be such a challenge if Flacco or Pickett were on hand to serve as QB2. Because of their experience, veterans simply don’t need a lot of practice reps to stay sharp in a backup role.
The Patriots avoided this situation last year by having veteran backup Jacoby Brissett to play behind Maye. Milton was their QB3, and has since been traded to the Dallas Cowboys.
“So, we’re all hands-on deck,” Rees said. “I would say it’s a total group effort – Kevin, myself, [QB coach Bill] Musgrave, it’s all hands-on deck to try to make sure both are ready to play.
“You have to maximize opportunities, even if there aren’t a ton of reps to go around. You have to be creative with how you create some extra reps, specifically to get Shedeur ready if you can’t get a bunch of reps there. So, the good news is both guys are bought in and doing a good job of working hard and understanding how important those opportunities are to be ready for the team.
“It is a unique situation. I don’t know how many times it’s probably happened, but probably not a lot. And we have the right two guys, mentally, right now in their demeanor, and how they’re prepping, and how they’re coming to work every day. I think we’ve put together a good plan, starting with Kevin, and pouring through the rest of the staff to make sure that those guys feel prepared to go play on Sunday.”
Gabriel has played every snap in his three starts, so far. That included a pounding he took in Pittsburgh through six sacks and 16 additional quarterback hits.
So the Browns are crossing their fingers that Gabriel can continue to answer the bell so that Sanders isn’t forced in without proper preparation.
Let’s get vertical
According to NextGenStats, Gabriel is last in the league with an average completed air yards of 3.3 yards. He is also last in average yards per attempt at 5.5 yards.
Gabriel has had only one completion of 20+ yards in each of his three starts – 22 yards to Isaiah Bond v. the Vikings, 23 yards to Harold Fannin v. the Steelers, and 24 yards to Jamari Thrash v. the Dolphins.
Rees seems to think that Gabriel has been shy in throwing the ball deeper.
“That starts with us as coaches,” Rees said. “We have to put him in the right positions during the week to make sure he has confidence in those plays. Throughout camp, throughout the preseason, he was not trigger shy on that stuff. I still don’t think he is. We just have to give him the right looks and make sure that we’re preparing him to trust those things, and see them and let them go.”
Grant on a climb
Safety Grant Delpit has talked for several years about wanting to make a bigger impact in games. He’s doing that this year on the NFL’s No. 1 defense.
Delpit earned AFC special teams player of the week for forcing a fumble on a kickoff against the Dolphins. But his complete game on defense was more impressive. Delpit forced an interception by safety Rayshawn Jenkins with a quarterback hit, had a sack and made a fourth-down tackle short of a first down.
Given a rare, two-score lead, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz dialed up a few blitzes for Delpit, and Delpit took advantage of the rare opportunity.
“He’s doing a lot of things for us, and he’s doing it all well,” Schwartz said. “He’s playing with great effort. He’s playing with physicality. He can play in the box, he’s been blitzing, man-to-man coverage, zone coverage. And I think a little bit early in the season he was pressing to try to make plays and ended up getting out of position a little bit, and he’s been dynamite in that area the last couple games and ball sort of finding him.”
Delpit shrugs at the suggestion he’s having his best season.
“I think I’m on a climb, stay climbing personally,” he said. “That’s just the mentality that I have. I always want to be better and I’ve been feeling like I haven’t been impacting this team enough, so I’m like a mad man with this. I’m trying to go every week, just do my job, but do more.”
Brownie bits
Special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone played four seasons for the Patriots in two different stints. He said that Gillette Stadium “is a tough place to kick … the weather’s never good there. We just played in some weather and some elements this past weekend, so I think that was a good thing for us.” …
Joel Bitonio set a Browns’ expansion-era record with his 168th start against Miami, surpassing Hall of Famer Joe Thomas’ 167 starts. “When I got here I never set myself to play longer than Joe Thomas, or anything like that,” Bitonio said. “Driving home it was something cool to think about.” …
If Jack Conklin returns to right tackle after missing the Miami game with a concussion, it’s possible the Browns can break their streak of fielding a different starting offensive line for seven games in a row. Alas, center Ethan Pocic was a DNP on Thursday because of illness.