Cleveland Browns QB Dillon Gabriel has one key area to improve

Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel is fresh off his first career NFL start, but he has a lot to learn in order to stick around and be a mainstay for the team.

One of Gabriel's areas of improvement is his ability to convert on third down. While he was successful doing that in the preseason, he only turned three third downs into first down in 15 attempts. Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski explained what he saw from Gabriel in that area of the game.

"It’s a combination of things, but I thought by and large he was getting through progressions," Stefanski said of Gabriel's third down struggles.

"There’s things that I know he can do better, that he knew when he was walking off the field. So, he’s got very good self-awareness and those types of things. But that was a very good pass defense that we were facing, both from a coverage and a pass rush standpoint. So, I thought he did a good job of taking care of the football, moving in the pocket when he needed to.

"But bottom line is you have to try to find a way to stay on the field, and a lot of times it’s your ability to be efficient on first and second down and put you in some manageable third downs that will allow that.”

Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel looks to pass the ball against the Minnesota Vikings. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

It's only Gabriel's first start with the Browns as a rookie, so he will have time to prove himself. However, he will definitely be studying the film before the team's Week 6 contest against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The hope is that Gabriel will get better game after game, but Stefanski trusts his rookie quarterback based on his performance against the Minnesota Vikings.

"Obviously can always [do] better, and certainly we as an offense have to better and score more to help this football team," Stefanski said. "But for, you know, a young player in that environment versus that defense to take care of the ball, make the plays he made, I thought was a lot of positives with plenty to clean up. And that’s what he will do. And that’s the mentality he has, certainly to be a player that continues to get better week in and week out.”

Gabriel and the Browns are back in action in Week 6 when they visit the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m.