Who Should I Start? Dillon Gabriel or Tyler Shough

Friday, April 25, 10:58 PM

The Cleveland Browns have selected Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel with the 94th overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Browns have been linked to various members of the quarterback class for quite a while, and now, they finally pull the trigger in the back half of the third round. Gabriel is the fifth signal-caller off the board, joining Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart, Tyler Shough, and Jalen Milroe. Interestingly, Shedeur Sanders, who was once mentioned as a candidate for Cleveland at No. 2 overall, remains available as many quarterback-needy teams opt for different players. Gabriel played six seasons of college football, with stops at UCF, Oklahoma, and Oregon. Replacing Bo Nix with the Ducks in 2024, Gabriel completed 326 of his 447 pass attempts for 3,857 yards, 30 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He also showcased his mobility with 149 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. Gabriel will likely compete with Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco while the Browns wait for Deshaun Watson (Achilles) to get healthy.

Saturday, May 10, 1:01 PM

Now that quarterback Derek Carr (shoulder) has announced his retirement, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport writes that it sets the stage for rookie second-round quarterback Tyler Shough to be the team's eventual starter in 2025. Shough's stock for his rookie campaign was already rising with Carr's availability in question for 2025 due to a shoulder injury, but now Carr is out of the picture completely. The 25-year-old Shough will be competing primarily with Spencer Rattler, who completed just 57% of his passes while throwing four touchdowns and five interceptions in his rookie season in 2024. Even if the Saints give Shough a little more time to develop and name Rattler the starter for Week 1, it seems likely that Shough will be starting games in the Big Easy sooner than later in 2025. Shough is old for a rookie and has plenty of experience, making him the current favorite over Rattler for QB1 duties.