The Cleveland Browns used two draft picks during the 2025 NFL Draft to take quarterbacks, taking Dillon Gabriel in the third round and Shedeur Sanders in the fifth.
While neither looked exceptionally terrible during their 2025 stints as the starting quarterback, with the 2026 QB battle underway, Gabriel is firmly the third QB on the depth chart, which makes him a trade candidate by default.
Bleacher Report's Moe Moton projected the Browns could receive a pair of draft picks in return for Gabriel, but with those picks being Day 3 selections no better than the sixth round, it's clear that their third-round pick a year ago was a total mistake.
Browns' Dillon Gabriel trade value proves 2025 draft pick was a mistake
"As Watson and Sanders battle for the lead position, the Browns can shop Gabriel, who, in limited action, posted solid passing numbers," Moton writes. "Estimated trade value: 2027 sixth-round pick, 2028 seventh-round pick."
The Browns are projected to be able to land a 2027 sixth and a 2028 seventh-round pick in exchange for Dillon Gabriel in a trade leading up to the 2026 season.
For someone whom the Browns took with the No .94 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, that evaluation one year later proves their 2025 draft decision was a total mistake.
Gabriel threw for 937 yards and seven touchdowns in six starts and 10 total games for the Browns in 2025. He wasn't awful, but he looked more like a backup and less like an actual starting QB in the NFL.
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Andrew Berry and the Browns used a third-round pick on him, and then took Shedeur Sanders two rounds later. Sanders was the much better pick, as his upside is a lot higher than Gabriel's.
What makes that Gabriel pick look even worse is that instead, the Browns could've taken Xavier Watts, Cam Skattebo, Danny Stutsman, Tory Horton, and many other players down the board instead of Gabriel.
But they took the Oregon QB, which has turned out to be a huge waste of a third-round pick. He's firmly QB3 behind Deshaun Watson and Sanders this season, and his trade value is significantly less than a third-round pick.
This was a terrible decision from the Browns a year ago, and this projected trade value makes it clear that Gabriel is valued nowhere close to what the Browns used to get him during the 2025 NFL Draft.
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