The Jets’ quarterback pipeline may already have a name to watch from Cleveland, but the fit is far from obvious.
Dillon Gabriel is the latest Browns passer to enter the conversation, and the list of quarterbacks who have started for both Cleveland and the Jets since the Browns returned in 1999 is already a familiar one. Tyrod Taylor and Joe Flacco have done it in recent years, Josh McCown did it in the mid-2010s, and if Vinny Testaverde is included, he qualifies too because of his time with the pre-relocation Browns.
Gabriel could be next, at least in theory. If the Jets have any interest in him, it’s tough to imagine Cleveland immediately brushing them off.
For now, though, Gabriel looks lined up for the No. 3 quarterback job behind Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders, barring injury. Watson appears set to start Week 1 against the Jaguars, while he and Sanders are expected to keep battling through training camp.
Gabriel’s numbers from his first NFL action were uneven. The 25-year-old completed 59.5% of his passes and posted a 7-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio across 10 games and six starts. But his 80.8 quarterback rating would have ranked third-worst among qualified quarterbacks, well below the league average of 91.4.
And that’s quarterback rating, not ESPN’s QBR. On that front, Gabriel’s 31.4 would have been last in the league.
His size is also part of the discussion. At 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds, Gabriel brings questions about his long-term fit in Cleveland, and the Browns’ recent coaching change only adds another layer.
Still, the Jets may not be the right landing spot. They already drafted Cade Klubnik in the fourth round to handle the developmental quarterback role, so the need to chase another young passer isn’t exactly pressing. Gabriel is also entering the second year of his standard four-year rookie deal, which makes him a less obvious target.
There’s another reason the Jets may prefer to wait: they own three 2027 first-round picks, giving them flexibility to draft a quarterback next spring or swing a trade if the right opportunity shows up.
That doesn’t mean Gabriel can’t become a productive NFL quarterback. It just doesn’t look like a move that makes much sense for the Jets right now.
And while the Browns also added Arkansas’ Taylen Green in the sixth round, it’s hard to picture them cutting Gabriel this summer.
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