The Cleveland Browns surprised many around the league in the 2025 NFL Draft by selecting quarterback Dillon Gabriel with the 94th overall pick over Shedeur Sanders, only to draft Sanders later with the 144th overall pick. Now we reportedly know what factor influenced that decision.
According to Cleveland.com‘s Mary Kay Cabot, the Browns’ concerns regarding Sanders ‘negative plays’ in college, including his sacks and interceptions totals, pushed him behind Gabriel on the team’s board.
- Shedeur Sanders stats (ESPN): 4,134 passing yards, 37-10 TD-INT, 74% completion rate, 8.7 yards per attempt, 168.2 QB rating, 4 rushing touchdowns
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“He’s played in multiple schemes, picked up new terminology quickly and hit the ground running in each of his stops. He’s extremely confident, has excellent leadership ability and has started an FBS-record 63 games. He’s also tied Case Keenum for the all-time FBS record with 155 TD passes.”
Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot on why the Cleveland Browns draft Dillon Gabriel over Shedeur Sanders
While Sanders had several issues during the pre-draft process when he met with teams, another problem was what showed up in his film. With limited athleticism and just league-average arm strength, teams needed to see a quarterback who made great decisions with the football and got the ball out quickly.
Related: Insider explains what it would take for Shedeur Sanders to not make Browns roster
Sanders fell short in both those areas. He ranked in the 15th percentile for sack rate, per Pro Football Focus, with an alarming pressure-to-sack rate of 22.4 percent over the last two seasons. For comparison, Gabriel had one of the lowest pressure-to-sack rates in the 2025 NFL Draft class at 13.9 percent and one of the lowest sack rates (4.5 percent) in college football.
As for protecting the football, Gabriel threw just 12 interceptions versus 60 touchdown passes in his final two seasons, recording a 1.4 percent interception rate on 831 pass attempts from 2023-’24. Last season alone, Sanders had 10 interceptions on 477 attempts for a 2.1 percent interception rate.
It’s one of the reasons why Gabriel will reportedly be listed ahead of Sanders on the Browns’ depth chart this summer. Cleveland views its third-round quarterback as the better passer right now, especially in Kevin Stefanski’s system. As a result, Sanders faces an uphill climb to see the field this coming season.
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