After five years as the starting quarterback for UCLA, Dorian Thompson-Robinson is now in the NFL. The Cleveland Browns drafted him in the fifth round. Congrats to him for being drafted!
I’ve written extensively about DTR while covering the Bruins here at LAFB. Most recently, I did a deep dive into his NFL prospects. During his tenure at UCLA, DTR showed significant improvement, in leadership, and athletic ability in leading the Bruins. Despite that, I didn’t view him as quite a good enough passer to be an NFL starter.
Vote Below! Will DTR Find A Role On The Browns?
Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s Role With Cleveland
In Cleveland, DTR will compete for the backup quarterback job against Joshua Dobbs and Kellen Mond. Despite having over two dozen lawsuits for sexual misconduct filed against him, the Browns chose to make Deshaun Watson the face of their franchise. Even worse, they paid him an insane 230 million dollars fully guaranteed over five years. That’s not a contract they can get out of, even if Watson continues to play as poorly as he did last year. He’s their starter for the foreseeable future.
Backup QB Battle For The Browns
The Browns’ three backup quarterbacks in DTR, Dobbs, and Mond are actually strangely similar. Their heights, respectively, are 6’2”, 6’3”, and 6’3”. Their weights are 205, 216, and 211. Dobbs’s 40 time is 4.64 and Mond’s is 4.62. DTR holds the edge here at 4.51. They all had some college success but Mond and Dobbs have been middling NFL prospects that have yet to prove themselves in the pros. DTR went in the fifth round, Dobbs in the fourth round, and Mond in the third round.
Dobbs has been in the NFL since 2017 and has bounced around since spending a few years with the Steelers. He is now on his second stint with the Browns. He’s had some sporadic NFL playing time in place of injured starters but hasn’t stood out while doing so. Mond was drafted in 2021 by the Vikings. He barely saw the field, was not looked upon favorably by Mike Zimmer, and was eventually released. And of course, DTR was drafted this past year.
These guys will likely compete for the starting job during preseason and training camp. It’s not much to get excited about, but the hope for DTR here would be that his increased mobility would give him an edge. If he wins the job, he could see playing time eventually, as Watson has proven to be injury prone. If not, he’ll likely get an opportunity to be a backup elsewhere.
