Shedeur Sanders’ draft snub headlines might have toned down over the past few weeks. But the whirlwinds of the whole process and how it happened are still in the air. There’s probably no one in college football or even the football community who doesn’t have an opinion about Shedeur’s 144th draft pick. But amidst these front-page headlines and opinions, another massive QB quietly tiptoed into the Browns’ QB room. And right now, Kirk Herbstreit, with his stance, is giving the former Oregon star, Dillon Gabriel, his deserved spotlight.

There’s been a ton of chatter about Shedeur’s draft snub, and honestly, it makes sense. The former Colorado Buffs QB was seen as a potential top 5 pick in the NFL draft, with big names like Mel Kiper backing him up. But when he didn’t land in the top 5, the buzz didn’t die down—it’s still being talked about a month later. People are questioning why the Browns went for Shedeur when they already had Dillon Gabriel, who they picked as the 94th choice in the third round. Kirk Herbstreit couldn’t come up with an answer to this head-scratcher, but he definitely has a favorite between the two.

Herbstreit sat on the 1st June episode of The Learning Leader Show with Ryan Hawk with a live audience. One of the audience members then asked Herbstreit about his opinion of Shedeur’s draft snub. The announcer, however, refrained from expressing his outright opinion on the whole controversy and simply said, “I don’t know. Oh man, let me think. Nothing about football.” He did say, however, that the Bengals should have drafted OTs to protect Joe Burrow but later opened up a bit on Shedeur’s draft. “The Sanders stuff, I mean, that was kind of crazy for a lot of people. Yeah, that was wild. We’ll see how that goes.” Lastly, Herbstreit praised the former Oregon star. “They also drafted Dillon Gabriel, who I’m a huge fan of,” said Kirk Herbstreit.

Dillon Gabriel had an awesome run in college football last year! He led the Ducks to the playoffs and really got the offense going, racking up 3,857 passing yards and 149 rushing yards, all while boasting an impressive 72.9% passing accuracy. That’s no small accomplishment, especially in the Big 10! What’s really cool is that he didn’t just do it once; he put up over 3,000 yards in multiple seasons with different teams. He started off strong at UCF in 2019 and 2020, and then he went to Oklahoma and kept it up in 2022 and 2023. It’s definitely something that Herbstreit pointed out as a remarkable achievement for Gabriel!

“If you remember Dillon Gabriel in Eugene, he played pretty well. He’s very accurate. He can move around. He’s just short. I mean, if he were 6’2, everyone would probably be putting him in the first round. He played at UCF. That’s the world we’re in. UCF, Oklahoma, and Oregon. Started at all three places, which is strange,” said Herbstreit.

Herbstreit’s stance seems to be clear even though he didn’t explicitly say it. The announcer wants Gabriel in the QB1 spot and is all in praise for the former Dan Lanning’s former player. As for Shedeur, he is also an incredible player, and no one can figure out the reason why he was downgraded to the 5th round. Shedeur also did everything right, along with his 4,000+ yard performance with the Buffs, leading them to a 9-4 season. So overall, the battle for the QB1 between Shedeur and Dillon Gabriel will be quite exciting to watch, with both of them brimming with talent.

Dillon Gabriel taking the Russell Wilson path?

Dillon Gabriel’s draft pick wasn’t that high, probably because of his frame, as Herbstreit pointed out. Standing at 5’11” and 205 lbs, he has faced continuous scrutiny because of his frame, raising concerns about batted passes and issues with line of sight. Despite these concerns, we have seen the QB perform week in and week out in college football. But can he do the same in the NFL?

NFL analyst Jake Burns, talking on ‘The Dawgs’ podcast, compared the path that Dillon Gabriel is taking to Russell Wilson. “Dillon, as far as college goes whether it was at UFC, Oklahoma, or Oregon. He will throw the football over the middle of the field. The things that you would think for a guy who’s pushing six feet, 5’11” and change. He is a pretty good athlete, he can run. Smart in terms of figuring out when to run.”

Undoubtedly, the quality is there. Moreover, we have also seen some dual-threat talent from him since he scored 34 rushing TDs in CFB. His arm talent may not be too elite, but that is something he can work on and improve his deep throws. Apart from these concerns, there are also concerns that in Oregon, the system relied on short passes, which can also limit some of his suitability in the NFL. But again, all these things can be worked on, and Dillon Gabriel can come out as a top-tier QB in one or two years.