Best NFL Fits For Oregon Ducks' Dillon Gabriel? Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers

With the 2025 NFL Draft on the horizon, which franchise will select Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel, and how early will he be selected? Recent draft projections have Gabriel waiting until the second or third day of the draft before being picked.
As a result, Gabriel is expected to be drafted by teams looking for a backup quarterback, like the San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills, or Miami Dolphins. Organizations that are looking for their franchise quarterback of the future will likely use a first-round pick on Miami Hurricanes' Cam Ward or Colorado Buffaloes' Shedeur Sanders.
Most recently, Gabriel was dropped to the bottom of ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr.'s quarterback prospect rankings. Kiper's draft lists have long been indications for how the ceremony will go, and his recent predictions have Gabriel falling below Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough and Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke. dropped Oregon Ducks' quarterback Dillon Gabriel to the bottom of his list.
On Wednesday, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers announced for the draft, leaving one year of eligibility on the table. Kiper then swiftly followed up that announcement with a revised quarterback draft list. Gabriel, the highest voted quarterback for the Heisman Trophy award, was listed at No. 10 for Kiper's quarterback rundown, a fairly low evaluation for the quarterback's performance this year.
Kiper's recent prediction follows a slew of NFL Draft prediction rankings that don't quite favor the Oregon leader. Gabriel was recently ranked fourth amongst quarterbacks for the ESPN position rankings and is predicted to be drafted by the second or third night of the draft. With a lower draft grade, Gabriel's best NFL fit is most likely a team that will not rely on the Oregon quarterback to play immediately.
MORE: No. 1 QB Recruit Jared Curtis Compares Ohio State's Ryan Day, Oregon's Dan Lanning
MORE: Oregon Ducks Transfer Portal Commits Fire Back At USC Trojans Fans Criticism: Revenge
MORE: Oregon Ducks' Dillon Gabriel Slighted By 2025 NFL Draft Projection?
While with the Ducks, Gabriel led the program to it's first 13-0 season in history, cemented a No. 1 seed evaluation in the College Football Playoffs, and won the Big Ten Championship in the program's first year with the conference. In the summation of the season, Gabriel ended with an 86.4 quarterback rating (3rd in NCAA this year), 3,857 yards and 30 touchdowns in the passing game, as well as racking up 149 rushing yards and seven touchdowns off 75 carries.
Gabriel also broke the FBS record for the most career passing touchdowns, most career touchdowns accounted for, and most points responsible for. Along with coming in third for Heisman voting, he was also named a first-team All-American and the Big Ten Quarterback of the Year.
However, Gabriel has had struggles during the season of completing mid-range to deep-range passes consistently and finding chemistry with long-range receivers outside of a very consistent connection with Tez Johnson. Though that "Achilles heel" of sorts shaped up better for his mid-range targets in the College Football Playoff, going 81% from 5-14 yard passing attempts, the Rose Bowl loss was one of Gabriel's worst performances of the year.
MORE: Buffalo Bills Prep for Baltimore Ravens' Lamar Jackson By Signing Dual Threat QB
MORE: Dillon Gabriel Reacts To Future of Oregon Ducks Quarterback Position, Dante Moore
MORE: Most Valuable College Athletic Programs: Oregon Ducks' $780 Million, SEC Dominates
MORE: Miami Hurricanes' Carson Beck To Make More NIL Money Than Denver Broncos Bo Nix