There have been famous NFL draft falls before, of course — Dan Marino, Randy Moss, Aaron Rodgers, Brady Quinn, and so on — but it’s pretty clear now that this Shedeur Sanders is the king of them all, y’all.
There was actual talk of him being the No. 1 overall pick at one point — I couldn’t tell you how INFORMED that talk was (obviously not super-informed), but it was out there, at least for a while.
Sanders slipping out of the first round became more and more of a possibility as word leaked that teams were falling out of love after watching him closely on film. Also it seems his well-known brashness has turned off some people.
Even so, did anyone think he would drop to the third day?
The Browns have been the team most closely connected to Shedeur because they’re the team with the highest-profile quarterback fiasco going. But the Browns made it clear on Friday, in Day 2 of the Draft, that they want absolutely no part of him.
I mean, look, the team with the worst offense and fewest offensive threats in the NFL didn’t even try to take a playmaker with their first three picks — they took a linebacker, a bruising running back, and a tight end.
But then, with the 94th overall pick, they were finally ready to get their quarterback.
And they took … Dillon Gabriel of Oregon, a 24-year-old, 5-foot-11 lefty whose draft analysis calling card seems to be his lack of size and arm strength.
Let’s go to the scouts!
NFL.com: “He might require a ball-control passing game to help manage his lack of arm talent.”
PFF: “Gabriel’s measurables — height, weight, wingspan, hand size, etc. — are all in the 35th percentile or lower among quarterbacks … that’s quite a barrier to developing into a successful NFL signal caller.”
The Athletic: “Gabriel looks small in the pocket and has some limitations as a downfield thrower … a savvy lefty with a quick release, he has similarities to Tua Tagavailoa — and has a fighting chance to earn a backup role in the NFL.”
ESPN: “Gabriel has below-average arm strength, he didn’t have a lot of velocity behind his throws at the combine.”
And so on.
I am not here to predict Dillon Gabriel’s future. That’s not my thing. He was a fine quarterback at Oregon and, who knows, maybe he will be a star someday.
What I’m here to say is: When the Browns take a quarterback NOBODY had going in the third round over Shedeur Sanders, they are emphatically saying: “We don’t want Shedeur Sanders.”
And that’s why I’m convinced they will take him today.
It’s the perfect Browns setup.
As Bill James wrote me this morning, the Browns LOVE quarterback stories. That seems to be their one and only scouting technique. This is a team that over the last decade-plus has acquired Brady Quinn, Colt McCoy, Johnny Football, RG III, Baker Mayfield, Jameis Winston and, most infamously, He Who Shall Not Be Named.
They don’t draft quarterbacks. They draft headlines.
A Browns camp with HWSNBN, Sanders, Joe Flacco and poor Dillon Gabriel would be precisely the sort of mess that this team cannot resist. I know nothing about the NFL draft at all, but I’m making the call now:
Browns draft Shedeur.
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