Breakout QB Threatens Futures of Browns’ Sanders, Gabriel
The Cleveland Browns are looking more and more likely to earn a shot at one of the top quarterbacks in the 2026 NFL draft, which bodes ill for the futures of current rookie QBs Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
Cleveland is 1-5, which is tied for the second-worst record in the league through Week 6, and has traded away both Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett — the veteran quarterbacks the team acquired during the spring when the intent to win in 2025 remained strong. The Browns also hold the first-round pick belonging to the Jacksonville Jaguars, which they could package with their own selection to potentially move up even higher than wherever it is they end up in the 2026 draft order.
Jordan Reid of ESPN released an early mock draft on Wednesday, October 15, in which he predicted that Cleveland will select Oregon QB Dante Moore with the No. 3 overall pick next April.
“Moore was surging up draft boards prior to an underwhelming performance against Indiana, but he is a calm distributor with the arm strength to get the ball to all three levels of the field,” Reid wrote. “His 72% completion percentage ranks ninth in the FBS. Moore has only 11 career starts, but he is primed to be near the top of a QB class filled with question marks. The Browns have plenty of questions of their own under center, as rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders haven’t established themselves as long-term options.”
Dante Moore Has Jumped From Unproven QB With Question Marks to Top of Several NFL Draft Boards
Oregon lost to Indiana at home last weekend, which was the Ducks’ first defeat of the year and dropped them to the bottom end of the top 10 in both the AP and Coach’s Polls.
It was Moore’s first loss since becoming the starter in 2025. He played behind Gabriel at Oregon last year and spent a season with UCLA before that. Through six games this season, Moore has amassed 1,396 passing yards, 15 TDs and three INTs.
Former ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay, now of the The Ringer, spoke glowingly about Moore during a September episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” noting that the QB broke onto the scene this year in a way McShay never saw coming.
“Dante Moore from Oregon is the best passer of the football in all of college football,” McShay said. “He’s what the NFL is looking for. … I’m all-in on this guy.”
Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders Still Have Time to Prove Themselves as NFL QBs
As for Gabriel, he has got more runway to show the Browns that he can be a longterm answer as a starting quarterback in the NFL.
Gabriel is 0-2 in two starts and will be QB1 again this Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. He has completed 57.3 percent of his passes for 430 yards and three touchdowns. Gabriel has not turned the football over in four appearances, two of which came in garbage time relief of Flacco early in the year.
Sanders is now QB2 and is likely to get a chance to prove himself as an NFL starter at some point this season, though the timing of that opportunity will depend on how Gabriel plays and develops over the coming weeks.
What's next for Commanders QB's after disastrous preseason performance?
The Washington Commanders' preseason is complete and players on the roster bubble await the final decisions that the front office will make.
Two players that could face the chop are quarterbacks Sam Hartman and Josh Johnson, who both struggled mightily in the preseason finale against the Baltimore Ravens.
"If Washington keeps three quarterbacks, Saturday's outing for Sam Hartman did not help him. At all. Hartman struggled for a third preseason game," ESPN insider John Keim wrote.
"He played the entire first half vs. Baltimore, completing 12-of-17 passes for 114 yards and two interceptions -- including a pick-six. Most of his completions were behind the line and throws to the outside lacked zip. The question becomes whether or not Washington keeps 38-year-old Josh Johnson, who was better than Hartman but also threw three interceptions this summer. A lot comes down to how the team feels about backup Marcus Mariota's Achilles tendinitis that sidelined him for most of the last three weeks. Mariota returned to practice last week."
Commanders quarterbacks on the bubble
The Commanders might want to keep one of Hartman or Johnson due to Mariota's injury, but the former Heisman Trophy winner's return to the practice field last week makes that less likely.
Washington could carry three quarterbacks, but after the subpar play from Hartman and Johnson during the preseason, it's impossible to imagine a roster with both of them on it and hard to see one of them making it.
If the Commanders do keep a third quarterback, Johnson is the likelier of the two given his experience. However, the team's decision to bring him on might have to do with how many players at other positions they want to keep.
The Commanders must shrink their roster to 53 players by Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET. Then, the team will begin preparing for the season opener against the NFC East rival New York Giants.
