Dillon Gabriel, QB, Oregon
Size:
Height: 5111
Weight: 205
Arm: 29 ⅝”
Hand: 9 ¼”
Accomplishments:
First-Team All-Big 12 (2023) • Manning Award finalist (2023) • Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award finalist (2023) • All-Big 12 Honorable Mention (2022)
“Dillon Gabriel is an experienced and productive QB prospect who effectively distributes the football to his weapons with plus-level accuracy and placement to all three levels of the field.”
Strengths:
Plus-athlete and dual-threat QB
Throwing from the pocket and off-script
Plus-level accuracy in the short and intermediate areas of the field
RPO/West Coast offensive scheme fit
Good instincts
Concerns:
Vertical arm talent to push the ball outside the numbers
Anticipation against man coverage
Undersized/smaller frame
Decision-making
Film Analysis:
Dillon Gabriel began his career with the UCF Knights before transferring to Oklahoma and then Oregon. Gabriel's transfers were not due to a lack of playing time, as he was successful at all three destinations, but rather due to unique opportunities for success. Gabriel will bring plenty of playing experience to an NFL offense, as he holds the record for games played by a quarterback, as well as the NCAA total touchdowns record—both of which were broken in the 2024 season. Gabriel is a skilled thrower of the football who brings accuracy, poise, and overall athleticism to create explosive offensive plays.
Gabriel is a well-experienced passer, and his poise and calmness in the pocket reflect this. He operates well in cluttered pockets, continuing to find throwing lanes. As a passer, he displays good velocity, allowing him to fit passes into small windows. Gabriel has a quick release with good, clean mechanics. His upper and lower body are well-coordinated, helping to maximize his arm talent.
Gabriel is an accurate passer who can succeed at both the first and second levels of the defense. He works the vertical passing lanes as an anticipatory thrower. He identifies one-on-one matchups and allows his receivers to make plays. Gabriel gets the ball down the field early to lead his receivers away from defenders once they've been stacked. He confidently attacks the middle of the field, especially off play-action and RPO calls. He has quick, twitchy hips and footwork in the RPO game, allowing him to flip and throw with little to no wasted motion on his glance routes. I appreciate his ability to both lead and protect his receivers with proper ball placement.
Athletically, Gabriel can make a difference on offense. He is a good improvisational scrambler with the pocket presence to feel the walls closing in before bailing out. He keeps his eyes down the field to find potential targets, creating second-reaction windows. He forces defenses to account for him in the red zone and play 11-on-11 football. He is a plus athlete and is effective on QB-designed runs—power, counter, and zone reads.
Concerns with Gabriel begin with his size. NFL personnel may hesitate to use him frequently on QB-designed runs as he did in college, as they would prefer not to expose him to unnecessary hits and punishment. Gabriel has short-area velocity and zip on his throws, but pushing the ball downfield is an issue. His passes lose steam the further down the field he throws. He needs to get the ball out early in front of his target; if he's late, his passes will be underthrown.
Gabriel lacks the elite arm talent to drive throws from the far hash to the sideline. He can make all of the throws on the field, but it could be risky to ask him to do so consistently. He doesn't possess the arm strength to be late on throws to the sideline, as they risk being intercepted. The offensive systems he's played in have spread the field, providing him with far more room for throws than he'll likely have in the NFL.
Overall, Gabriel is an instinctual quarterback who has proven to be a great asset in every situation he's been in. Although he may lack some of the physical thresholds of a traditional NFL quarterback, he has the opportunity to make up for it with his IQ and knowledge of the game. Gabriel has the potential to become a successful starter in the right situation, thriving in an RPO or West Coast offense that allows him to stretch the field horizontally and take occasional shots vertically. He could succeed in the right/perfect system.
Prospect Projection: Day 2 — Adequate Starter
Exposures: Ohio State (2025), Michigan (2024), Penn State (2024), Ohio State (2024), Texas (2023), WVU (2023), Kansas (2023), Oklahoma State (2023)
