- Time to start a rookie?: The Cleveland Browns are approaching a favorable point in their schedule to start Dillon Gabriel or Shedeur Sanders.
- Sub-par blocking could play a factor: Cleveland’s 40.5 team pass-blocking grade factors into which rookie quarterback will play.
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Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Editor's Note: The Browns have since announced that Dillon Gabriel will start in Week 5.
Despite their 1-3 record after four weeks, the Cleveland Browns’ rookie class is showing a lot of short- and long-term promise.
Tight end Harold Fannin Jr. has already logged 200 snaps on the season with a 62.6 receiving grade, and wide receiver Isaiah Bond has played 129 snaps as well. Running backs Quinshon Judkins and Dylan Sampson have formed a decent backfield combination, as Judkins has earned a 70.9 rush grade and Sampson has an 83.1 receiving grade. On defense, linebacker Carson Schwesinger not only has the most snaps among Browns rookies at 227 but also the highest overall grade at 84.1. Defensive tackle Mason Graham has also played a good amount, with 180 snaps and a 61.8 overall defensive grade.
However, two members of their rookie class have yet to make an impact or even see the field so far this season, and they are arguably the two most important: quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
Veteran Joe Flacco has been the starting quarterback since the start of the season. This made total sense at the time. Gabriel and Sanders weren’t first- or even second-round picks, so there wasn’t pressure or even expectation to start them right away. As for Flacco, the grizzled veteran may not be what he once was as a Super Bowl winner with the Baltimore Ravens, but he was seen as capable and could at least give the Browns a decent floor to work with as their defense had the chance to carry them into early-season success. Yet, even though Flacco may not have been seen as the biggest problem on the team, it doesn’t mean he’s the solution. For that, they will have to turn to one of their rookies at some point.
Now four weeks into the year with just one win and two big losses at the hands of the Ravens and Detroit Lions, the question becomes when is the right time to start Gabriel or Sanders, and whether both should get a fair look. When you look at their upcoming schedule, I believe that time has come.
Cleveland’s next game is against the Minnesota Vikings, but it’s an international trip to London, so the Browns won't make the change this week. The following week, they play the Pittsburgh Steelers, which is a tough in-division opponent, but that could be Flacco’s last start depending on how they fare. If the Browns lose those two games, they host the Miami Dolphins in Week 7 and then the New England Patriots in Week 8 before a bye in Week 9. I like the idea of making the switch prior to Week 7 because they play two manageable opponents and then have a bye week to reset and reassess.
The question then becomes which of the two rookie quarterbacks do they start first? As a draft analyst, I would tell you Sanders, as I had Sanders ranked much higher on my big board. However, Gabriel was drafted first (third round at pick No. 94 compared to Sanders at No. 144 in the fifth round). I believe Gabriel would get the first crack at it because he was clearly graded higher on the team’s big board.
Then there is the issue of the offensive line. Four weeks into the season, the Browns’ 40.5 team pass-blocking grade ranks 30th. They have yielded the most total pressures (77) and the highest pressure percentage (40.3%) as a group. In college in 2024, Gabriel’s 2.74-second time to throw was much quicker than Sanders’ 3.09-second mark; therefore, Gabriel may be able to mitigate a struggling offensive line by getting the ball out of his hands quicker. Though it is worth noting that Sanders did earn the higher passing grade under pressure between the two (66.0 compared to Gabriel's 59.1).
Draft position and team context would likely point to Gabriel as the first of the two rookie quarterbacks to get a chance to start for Cleveland. But regardless of who it is, a few more early-season losses should force the Browns to give themselves ample opportunity to answer whether or not Gabriel or Sanders can be their starting quarterback in 2026. They can’t just give one or both of these guys a few throwaway games in December. We’ll need to see them much sooner than that, and I believe the time for that is nearing.
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