'Me vs. me': Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel focused inward in Browns QB competition
BEREA — Dillon Gabriel went to bed on the evening of April 25 as the only rookie quarterback on the Browns roster. By the time he went to bed the next day, the former Oregon quarterback had company.
It wasn't just any company, either. It was the company of Colorado's Shedeur Sanders, one of the highest-profile players in the draft.
“Yeah, I love it," Gabriel said on the second day of Browns rookie minicamp Saturday. "I love it because of who it is. I think just for us both, you can learn from one another. But also it's not just us two in the room. At least for right now it is. But going into the year, Kenny [Pickett], Joe [Flacco], and even Deshaun [Watson], just a bunch of guys who played a bunch of ball that we can all learn from one another.”
Right now, the only two who are together are the two rookies. Pickett and Flacco, the other two healthy quarterbacks on the Browns roster, will be back next week when the veterans return to continue the offseason program.
Getting to know the other quarterbacks on the roster will come in due time. For now, the two rookies who have only watched each other from afar through their college careers are now watching each other from close quarters.
"Cool, normal," Sanders said of Gabriel. "Yeah, it's been normal. He's a real cool guy overall. You could tell, he always has a great mood, he's always in a good mood — I've only been around him two days though — but he always has a great mood. But overall I can tell he is a pretty good person."
For Gabriel, the moment Sanders was drafted changed the dynamic of his own acclamation to the professional ranks. It wasn't just about having to find a way to split reps during the course of minicamp, which the Browns managed to do by giving both quarterbacks ample chances with extensive 7-on-7 periods.
It was about having to deal with an extra layer of attention on the rookie minicamp from outside parties. With Sanders' presence came multiple national outlets over the course of the two days that were open to the media.
Gabriel, though, has been in his own spotlight — admittedly a much different one — during his six seasons in college. Playing at places like Oklahoma and Oregon, where he led the Ducks to a Big Ten championship and a 13-1 season, will manage to put the glare on a player, especially a quarterback.
Those kind of distractions are ones Gabriel's approach manages to block out.
“Yeah, I mean, for me, life of simplicity is a life full of focus," Gabriel said. "Life of complexity comes with life with distractions. But, for me, I'm focused. I'm simple. I know what I want to accomplish."
What both quarterbacks ultimately want to accomplish is to end up as the Browns' starting quarterback. Very little, if anything, done on the field during the rookie minicamp will determine how that competition ends up.
The additions of Pickett and Flacco next week during the offseason program won't do it, either. It's something that will extend into training camp, at which point someone is going to end up getting the job.
That makes the approach to the whole process one of an inward focus, not an outward one.
"I just feel like in life and everything, it's just me vs. me," Sanders said. "I can't control any other decision besides that. So I just try to be my best self at all times."
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ