Player

Dillon Gabriel

QB · Browns

Gabriel's interception rate — 2 in 5 starts on a Browns offense that ranked bottom-5 in offensive DVOA — shows he wasn't forcing the ball when Cleveland had little margin for error; every extra possession mattered against the deficit they faced most weeks.

FanIQ Research · May 11, 2026 · 6 facts, every one from the play-by-play

Five rookie starts (Wks 5-8, 10) — 89 completions, 970 yards, 6 TDs, 2 INTs.

Trend

Gabriel rookie starts, 2025

Wk	Opp	Cmp/Att	Yds	TD	INT
5	MIN	19/33	190	2	0
6	PIT	29/52	221	0	0
7	MIA	13/18	116	0	0
8	NE	21/35	156	2	2
10	NYJ	17/32	167	2	0

Gabriel took over from Joe Flacco mid-season and posted a clean start-to-start arc: 2 TDs in his first start (Minnesota), 0 INTs in his first three starts, then a 2-TD/2-INT learning game against New England, then bounced back with 2 TDs and a season-high 54 rushing yards against the Jets in Week 10.

The interception line — 2 in 5 starts — is unusually clean for a rookie playing in a struggling offense.

Passing yards per start

Week	Yards
W5	190
W6	221
W7	116
W8	156
W10	167

Why it matters. Gabriel's interception rate — 2 in 5 starts on a Browns offense that ranked bottom-5 in offensive DVOA — shows he wasn't forcing the ball when Cleveland had little margin for error; every extra possession mattered against the deficit they faced most weeks.

Week 6 against Pittsburgh: 52 attempts — ties Brandon Weeden (2012) for the most by any Browns drafted QB in a single game since 1999.

Split

Browns drafted QBs: 40+ attempt games (rookie seasons)

Player	Season	Wk	Att	Cmp	Yds	TD	INT
Dillon Gabriel	2025	6	52	29	221	0	0
Brandon Weeden	2012	4	52	25	320	0	1
DeShone Kizer	2017	3	47	22	242	2	3
Baker Mayfield	2018	6	46	22	238	1	2
Tim Couch	1999	11	45	29	259	1	2

Gabriel's Week 6 line vs the Steelers — 29/52, 221 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 6 sacks — is a perfect snapshot of Cleveland's 2025 offense: he was asked to drop back and absorb constant pressure.

52 attempts ties Brandon Weeden's Week 4 2012 game as the highest for any Browns drafted QB in a single game across the entire database (1999–2025). Crucially, Gabriel converted that volume without a turnover — Weeden went 0-TD, 1-INT on his 52-attempt day. The zero-interception line on maximum workload is the most encouraging data point in Gabriel's rookie file.

Why it matters. High-attempt games under pressure test a rookie's turnovers-on-volume — the stat that ends careers; Gabriel's 0 INTs on 52 attempts showed the decision-making wasn't breaking down even as the pocket collapsed.

5th among 2025 rookie QBs in passing yards (937) — and one of only two with a 7:2 TD-to-INT ratio.

Comparison

2025 rookie QB leaders

Player	Cmp/Att	Yds	TD	INT	G
Cam Ward	323/540	3169	15	7	17
Tyler Shough	221/327	2384	10	6	11
Jaxson Dart	216/339	2272	15	5	14
Shedeur Sanders	120/212	1400	7	10	8
Dillon Gabriel	110/185	937	7	2	10

Gabriel sits 5th in raw yards among 2025 rookie QBs, but the 3.5:1 TD-to-INT ratio is matched only by Jaxson Dart (15:5 = 3.0:1) and exceeds every other rookie. Shedeur Sanders, the most-watched of the class, is 7:10 — the inverse.

Gabriel's role wasn't to be the franchise answer — it was to keep the season alive without giving it away. He executed that.

Why it matters. Gabriel's 3.5:1 TD-to-INT ratio in a minimal-opportunity role reframes his raw 5th-place yard total — it shows he was playing the game properly (not hunting stats at the cost of turnovers) in a context where Cleveland needed wins, not showcase numbers.

54 rushing yards vs the Jets — nearly double his total from the first 4 starts combined (30 yards).

Anomaly

Gabriel rushing by start

Wk	Opp	Att	Rush yds
5	MIN	2	5
6	PIT	0	0
7	MIA	4	12
8	NE	1	13
10	NYJ	5	54
11	BAL	2	2

His first four starts (Wks 5–8) produced just 30 combined rushing yards across 7 carries. The Week 10 Jets game is the only time in the rookie sample where Gabriel used his legs as a real weapon — 5 carries, 54 yards, a 10.8 yards-per-carry average. That spike is nearly double his entire first-four-start rushing output in a single game.

The Jets game came right before he lost the starting job (10 snaps in Week 11 vs Baltimore). The rushing flash hints at an unrealized dimension that didn't fully emerge over his 5-start sample.

Why it matters. A single-game rushing outlier this large suggests Cleveland may have started scheming differently after four cautious weeks — or that the Jets' defensive alignment created lanes Gabriel could exploit; either way, it's a data point the 2025 tape scout needs to examine.

Closed his college career as the all-time FBS leader in passing TDs (155) before becoming a Round 3 NFL pick.

Rare

Gabriel's resume before he entered the league — UCF, Oklahoma, Oregon — is one of the most accomplished college lines of the decade: 18,722 college passing yards, 155 passing TDs (FBS all-time record), 64 starts. He was a top-3 Heisman finisher at Oregon in 2024.

The Browns selected him No. 94 overall in the 3rd round of the 2025 draft, counting on the resume translating. The rookie year was a half-season audition that produced a 7:2 TD-INT line in 5 starts — encouraging, not definitive.

Why it matters. Being the all-time FBS TD leader going into the draft should have attracted first-round attention; being selected 94th overall implies NFL scouts aggressively discounted his college production — making his 7:2 NFL TD:INT ratio in limited starts a genuine vindication of the college numbers.

2 TDs, 0 INTs in his NFL starting debut — the only Browns drafted QB to post a multi-TD, zero-turnover debut since the franchise returned in 1999.

Milestone

Browns drafted QBs: debut starts (1999–2025)

Player	Year	Wk	Cmp/Att	Yds	TD	INT
Dillon Gabriel	2025	5	19/33	190	2	0
Luke McCown	2004	13	20/34	277	2	2
DeShone Kizer	2017	1	20/30	222	1	1
Tim Couch	1999	2	12/24	134	1	0
Colt McCoy	2010	6	23/33	281	1	2
Brandon Weeden	2012	1	12/35	118	0	4
Cody Kessler	2016	3	21/33	244	0	0
Baker Mayfield	2018	3	17/23	201	0	0
Johnny Manziel	2014	15	10/18	80	0	2
DTR	2023	4	19/36	121	0	3

Gabriel's Week 5 NFL debut as a starter against the Vikings: 19-of-33, 190 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT. No Browns drafted QB in the franchise's modern era (1999–present) posted a multi-TD, zero-interception debut start — the best comparison is Luke McCown in 2004 (2 TDs) but he also threw 2 interceptions.

Brandon Weeden's actual debut (Week 1, 2012) was 0 TDs and 4 interceptions — the opposite of what the legend suggests. Gabriel's clean debut is the standard by which every future Browns QB draft pick will be measured at their first start.

Why it matters. Debut starts carry outsized psychological weight for franchises — 0-INT performances buy a rookie the latitude to keep the job; a debut with picks (like Weeden 2012 or DTR 2023) puts a player on the clock from day one.

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