Dillon Gabriel has now played two games with the Browns, both of which have been losses. While he has shown flashes of decency, with good throws, high velocity and quick reads, he has also had some mistakes. Of course, he’s a rookie and that comes with it’s ups and downs. But with Sanders and everything that comes with him behind, people will be nitpicking every play he’s involved with. Because of that, we have to ask, is Gabriel’s chair beginning to war, or is it all manufactured?
His Statistics
While stats don’t tell the whole picture, for very broad judgement they get the point across. In the two games Gabriel has played, he has thrown 85 total passes, with 48 of them completed, which comes out to a 56.4% completion percentage. That’s nothing special, but it isn’t all that awful. He was much better in the Vikings game, his first start for the Browns, with a total of 19/33 completions/attempts, 190 yards and two touchdowns. In the Steelers, which was a worse performance, Dillon threw 29/52, with 221 yards and zero touchdowns. Clearly he has not played badly, and the 52 passing attempts against the Steelers is sub-optimal regardless of who is throwing the ball. Stats wise, Dillon has not been playing poorly, with a total two game line of 48/85, 411 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. For a rookie coming into the team mid-season, with an offense that seems to have troubles in many places, this isn’t all too bad.
On the Field Performances
While stats are helpful, on the field performance is still crucial to understanding how a player has performed. As expected, Dillon has had his ups and downs on the field. Some of his plays have looked very impressive, with good throws, high velocity on passes that require it, and good field reads. Of course, as many rookies deal with, there have been some problems. Some of his throws have been off target, whether that is just outright off the receiver or too high, and he’s made some mistakes with reads. Some of this comes from simple mistakes, while others I believe are caused by the offensive line being on the weaker side, causing pressure and in turn poor choices. From what I have seen, his performance has been that of a normal NFL rookie, though it looks to be more on the plus side of a rookie. Learning an NFL scheme, playing in full speed games and dealing with everything that comes with the game takes time, and he seems to be on track to learn it.
Is His Seat Warm? Or is it all Made Up?
Dillon’s seat likely has no heat whatsoever, as he hasn’t performed poorly in both the games he’s played. A lot of his lackluster performance in the Steelers game wasn’t totally his fault, coming down to many other smaller factors. 52 passes for a rookie, or really any QB in general is too much, and is a clear sign at how unbalanced the Brown’s offense was in that game. Only 17 total carries among running backs and a total of 65 rushing yards, the running game was unable to pick up, which is a key in having the passing game work. Realistically, there has been no signs of Dillon not being a good quarterback, and so any heat for his job is likely manufactured, and probably doesn’t exist. If Sanders wasn’t behind him, there likely would be no talk about this at all.
Conclusion
Dillon is safe, for now at least. If he continues to play the way he has been, which is simply average, there will be no reason to remove him unless Sanders shows something special in the weeks to come. However, Dillon doesn’t have a whole lot of wiggle room, should his performance dip. As I said, if everything stays the same as it is now, there will be no reason for Dillon to be replaced. If the defense didn’t look lost against the Vikings, it would have been realistic to see the Browns, under him, win that game. Gabriel is safe, so long as nothing changes from now, he will be fine.
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