One of the most productive passers in NCAA history is back for his second season with the Oklahoma Sooners. Dillon Gabriel has one more season of eligibility, but he can still enter the 2024 NFL Draft class. We’re diving into Gabriel’s scouting report for next year’s NFL Draft in Detroit.
Dillon Gabriel Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’0″
- Weight: 200 pounds
- Position: Quarterback
- School: Oklahoma
- Current Year: Redshirt Senior
MORE: 2024 NFL Draft Top Quarterback Prospects
Just how good of a college quarterback has Gabriel been? If he continues to average around 3,200 yards over the next two seasons, he’ll finish second all-time in the NCAA in yards behind Case Keenum. The lefty began his career with three seasons at UCF before transferring to Norman.
Dillon Gabriel Scouting Report
Strengths
- Gabriel has rare confidence in his ability to throw catchable passes to receivers in single coverage.
- Displays great arc and manipulation of the ball on deep passes, despite not boasting a strong arm. Completes bucket passes with unique regularity.
- Has a quick release that allows him to avoid negative plays in the backfield.
- Enough mobility to evade oncoming defenders and scramble to gain positive yards.
- Dictates the pace of the game because of his downfield throwing prowess.
- Master of the RPO attack.
- Still young enough to enter the NFL after four or five seasons and not be behind his peers.
Weaknesses
- Has a smaller frame that causes him to break outside of the pocket to find clear passing lanes.
- Arm talent is below average for an NFL quarterback, as he struggles to generate velocity on short and intermediate throws without loading up and delaying his release.
- Struggles to set his feet and deliver pinpoint passes that beat tight coverage when under pressure.
- Loses effectiveness when his playmakers aren’t dynamic enough to win at the catch point.
- Lacks experience in a different, more NFL-ready scheme. This shows when he makes full-field reads.
- Drifts out of clean pockets or into pressure more often than necessary when his read isn’t there.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
As accomplished and as exciting as Gabriel is as a collegiate passer, he’s similar to many of his statistically impressive forefathers. The Sooners’ QB is fantastic at doing what he does best, which is making a quick read and then immediately reacting based on that read. It works when he has speedy or ball-dominant playmakers to erase the variance that comes with his middling accuracy.
Gabriel often throws a catchable — but not precise — pass, with the exception of deep bucket throws. This works only in the right environment, but we’ve never seen this style of passer have NFL success. His strengths are almost identical to players like Bryce Petty and Mason Rudolph.
It’s easy to like Gabriel because he is truly fearless on the field. Still, his physical limitations show when he has to nickel and dime defenses down the field or scramble against similarly talented teams. His lack of arm talent and juice as a rusher limit his upside too much to be a late-round, borderline draftable prospect.