Dillon Gabriel NFL Draft stock: 3 teams that could win with Oregon QB

The Oregon Ducks are the only undefeated team in the College Football Playoff, in no small part due to the outright dominance of senior quarterback Dillon Gabriel. A fifth-year transfer from Oklahoma, Gabriel is exactly what we've come to expect from a Ducks quarterback — "old," deeply experienced, and extremely efficient.

They have a type.

One can't help but note the parallels with Bo Nix, another QB who stuck around college football for eons before making the NFL Draft leap. Gabriel has six years of starting experience under his belt, split between several quality programs in UCF, Oklahoma, and now Oregon.

After finishing third in a competitive Heisman race, Gabriel is set up for an explosive postseason with the Ducks. Oregon won't have an easy go of things — their Rose Bowl showdown with Ohio State tomorrow is a plainly unlucky draw for the No. 1 overall seed — but we've seen the Ducks conquer every challenge to date. There's every reason to believe Gabriel can ace this test.

Franky, even if the Ducks flame out, Gabriel has done enough to draw the attention of NFL scouts. He won't go in the first round — this is broadly considered a weak draft for QBs — but Gabriel could land somewhere in that second or third-round range, offering plenty of desirable traits without the inherent pressure of first-round billing and a guaranteed starting gig.

Here are a few NFL teams that make a lot of sense for Gabriel.

3. Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are expected to bring in competition for Deshaun Watson next season. That could come in several forms, be it a veteran free agent (Kirk Cousins, we're all looking at you) or a rookie. Cleveland might land high enough to take the plunge on somebody like Cam Ward or Jalen Milroe in the first round, but if the Browns opt to focus elsewhere at the top of the board, Dillon Gabriel makes for a perfectly acceptable mid-round investment.

It's hard to imagine Gabriel starting out of the gate, but he could learn the ropes behind Watson for a year or two before getting an earnest shot in the driver's seat. It's hard to take the Browns seriously as a "winning" franchise, but Cleveland is just one year removed from an 11-win campaign. We have seen this Browns defense operate at genuinely elite levels. If the offense can achieve something approximating competence, who's to say the Browns can get back into the Wild Card race?

Gabriel isn't known for his arm talent, but like his Ducks predeccessor Bo Nix, he will arrive in the NFL with boatloads of corperate knowledge from years of high-level college experience at the position. He processes the field quickly, is nimble outside the pocket, and tends to move the chains efficiently — even if he's not uncorking explosive 50-yard bombs up the sideline. We all thought Oregon's system falsely inflated Nix's numbers, but hey, he clearly knows what he's doing in the NFL. Maybe that Ducks magic dust rubs off on Gabriel, too.

The Browns need to start thinking about the future beyond Watson. Gabriel is worth getting in the building to see what's up.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers

Dillon Gabriel was born to play in Arthur Smith's offense. The Pittsburgh Steelers are committed to Russell Wilson for the time being, but there's also a need to think long-term. Wilson is 36 years old and won't have too many starting-caliber seasons left in the tank. With Justin Fields as good as gone in free agency, Gabriel slots in comfortably as the backup and understudy, assuming Wilson re-signs in the Steel City.

Speaking of parallels, one has to think Gabriel (6-foot-0) can learn from another short king at the QB position (Russ is 5-foot-11). There are similarities in approach, as Wilson buttered his bread with fleet feet and an improvisational nature early in his career. Gabriel is sure to pick up the offense quickly, and Russ is plainly an excellent mentor to learn from (whatever you want to say about his corny personal brand, the dude dominated the highest level of football for a decade).

The Steelers are also a paragon of winning in the NFL. It's been a while since Mike Tomlin was at the mountaintop, but the Steelers always find ways to scrounge together regular season wins and make their presence felt in the playoffs. We all expected something dire with Russ or Fields at the commands, and here we are, with Pittsburgh sitting comfortably at 10-6 despite a brutal late-season schedule.

Arthur Smith loves to spread the wealth and run quick, dink-and-dunk plays around the line of scrimmage. Gabriel can fulfill the prophecy in ways Desmond Ridder never could.

1. Los Angeles Rams

You can poke holes in the Los Angeles Rams roster with the lightest of touches but Sean McVay has earned his reputation as this generation's coaching wunderkind. Matthew Stafford is getting old, his O-line is a mess, and the Rams' defense isn't what it once was — and yet Los Angeles is 10-6, hurling toward a division crown.

That is a great environment to bring up a quarterback in. The Stetson Bennett experiment appears ill-fated, but if the Rams can install the right up-and-comer behind Stafford, one has to imagine the transition of power will be smooth when the time comes. Gabriel should be able to pick up a complicated offense and absorb the right lessons from Stafford, who is plainly one of the sharpest football minds of a generation.

It sure feels like the Rams have established a baseline of competence under McVay. Once their draft assets come back into circulation and Los Angeles can restock its supporting cast, we could see the Rams start to really kick into high gear again. Maybe, by that point, Gabriel will have assumed the reins upon Stafford's retirement, which feels imminent.

This should absolutely be Gabriel's preferred destination. Learning the ropes for Stafford and benefitting from the QB whispering of Sean McVay is enough to launch almost anyone to success.