When Dillon Gabriel was selected with the 94th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, it came as a bit of a surprise.
The former Oregon Duck and Heisman finalist was tabbed as a "timing and rhythm quarterback" who didn't have the physical traits needed to be a starter in the NFL. The Cleveland Browns selected him anyway, and after a solid training camp and preseason, he has been elevated to the backup position behind Joe Flacco.
One former Browns player is bullish on his talents, though, and compared him to a former quarterback who couldn't stick it out in Cleveland.
Josh Cribbs Compares Dillon Gabriel to Baker Mayfield
In an appearance on The Top Dawg Show, former Browns return specialist Josh Cribbs compared Gabriel to Cleveland's former No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 draft, Baker Mayfield.
"We talking about Dillon Gabriel, I think he’s the poor man’s Baker Mayfield. Baker’s bigger than him. When you talk about somebody smaller than Baker, then it becomes an issue, but they didn’t see it as an issue,” Cribbs said.
While both quarterbacks were knocked for their size coming out of college, Mayfield has two inches on Gabriel, and despite being shorter than the average signal-caller, he still won the Heisman trophy and was the first overall pick out of Oklahoma.
Gabriel, on the other hand, was unable to secure collegiate football's most esteemed individual award and a first-round draft selection. While the Oregon product has some similarities to Mayfield, Cribbs' comparison leans heavily on their sizes.
Regardless, if Gabriel wants to establish himself as the quarterback of the future in Cleveland, he will have to do his best to stay away from the Mayfield comparisons, as that relationship poorly to say the least.