“You don't hear him saying anything about Dillon Gabriel”: Browns analyst calls out Chad Johnson for promoting Shedeur Sanders’ "false hysteria"
The Cleveland Browns acquired Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel in this year's NFL draft. Gabriel was drafted ahead of Coach Prime's son in the third round, while Shedeur was acquired with the 144th overall pick. Both rookies are fighting for a spot on the roster, as the Browns also have veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett on the depth chart.
On Monday's episode of ESPN Cleveland, analyst Tony Grossi called out ex-NFL star turned Nightcap co-host Chad Johnson for only putting the spotlight on Shedeur Sanders. He said that even Dillon Gabriel has been doing well at camp, but the noise surrounding his offseason progression has been less compared to Coach Prime's son.
"Well, first of all, Chad does watch ESPN Cleveland quarterback tracker, obviously," Grossi said. "Shedeur's doing fine, okay, but this is more the false hysteria that's being created. He's doing fine, but so is Dillon Gabriel. And you talk about spinning the ball, no one out there spins it as well as Gabriel. You don't hear him saying anything about Gabriel.
"I Mean, actually, mechanically, spinning a driving spiral into a receiver's hands. He's better at that, so I think it's just more false hysteria. Shedeur is doing fine. He is getting better, but hes not the only one getting better."
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski hasn't yet named the starting quarterback for the upcoming season, but Shedeur Sanders has been picking up momentum to emerge as the first choice.
Browns insider Mary Kay Cabot gave her vote of confidence to the 2024 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm winner as the potential QB1.
"His excellent performance, albeit not with the starters yet, earned him some time with the ones in training camp, and he'll have a fair shot to see if he can win the starting job," Cabot said on Sunday.
"If he continues to progress at his current clip, he'll be staying in the starting conversation deep into camp. It won't be easy, but he has a chance.
Ex-Packers QB believes Dillon Gabriel could be traded away this offseason
Former Packers quarterback Kurt Benkert made an interesting projection for Dillon Gabriel: if the ex-Oregon star doesn't secure a spot on the Browns roster, he could be traded to the Miami Dolphins.
"I wouldn't be shocked to see the #Dolphins trade for #Browns QB Dillon Gabriel at the end of preseason," Benkert said in a tweet on June 10.
"They liked him a ton and saw him as an incredible scheme fit with athletic upside and were going to take him a few picks later, but then the Browns drafted him (per source)."
The Dolphins have veterans Tua Tagovailoa and Zach Wilson on the QB depth chart. They drafted Quinn Ewers with the 231st overall pick this year and also signed Brett Gabbert as an undrafted free agent.
If Gabriel gets traded, he could become a developmental quarterback under Tagovailoa.