Quinn Ewers didn’t do enough during the 2024 campaign to warrant being one of the first quarterbacks off the draft board. Still, it was a surprise when the Texas signal caller slid all the way to the seventh round, and he was ultimately the final QB taken when he was selected by the Dolphins at No. 231.
[RELATED: Dolphins Draft QB Quinn Ewers At No. 231]
There was some initial speculation about Ewers’ fall down the draft board. His lack of ball protection (12 interceptions, 10 fumbles in 2024) was assumed to be the main culprit, but there were also scouts who criticized his lack of mobility and struggles under pressure.
His agent has since provided another reason. Ron Slavin said he reached out to a number of teams to understand why Ewers fell all the way to the seventh round. Many of those teams acknowledged that they rated the Longhorns quarterback higher than a seventh-round pick, but they were wary of the attention he’d draw as a backup.
“They thought he was a third- or fourth-round pick, but too big of a name to be a clipboard holder,” Slavin told ESPN’s Todd Archer. “Which I think is chickens—.”
In a draft where Shedeur Sanders also fell due to concerns about any impending distractions, it’s not a surprise that some pundits are starting to point fingers at the “NIL era.” That includes Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com, who believes endorsements and the accompanying attention will make “it awkward” for players (especially QBs) to suddenly sit on the bench.
Ironically, Ewers landed in a spot that could eventually lead to some QB controversy. Tua Tagovailoa has had his fair share of concussion and injury issues, putting Miami’s backups into the spotlight. After shuffling through a handful of names last season, the Dolphins landed on Zach Wilson as their QB2 for the 2025 campaign. If Tagovailoa went down, Wilson would surely get the first shot at the starting gig, but his spotty track record could open the door for Ewers.
For what it’s worth, the rookie QB isn’t letting his unexpected draft slide impact his perspective. While he admitted that he was surprised to fall to the seventh round, he was still relieved to hear his name called during draft weekend.
“I just didn’t know what was going on,” Ewers said. “But, I mean, it was nice [to get drafted], because at one point I’m like, ‘I’m not even going to get drafted. I’m going to go undrafted.’
“It was very unexpected, and I think that the toughest part about it is just the amount of unexpected occurrences there were. But I’m glad that I ended up where I ended up. To go as late as I did, I’m glad it’s a good spot.”
Anchorman GIF: I don’t believe you.
I can explain his draft slide: He’s not very good, and with teams watching a huge amount of Texas tape because of all his draftable teammates last year and this year, they have a clear-eyed view of how good he isn’t. He’s got some talent and he may have been banged up much of the season, but failing to ever live up to your hype coming out of high school and then regressing your last year isn’t a great sell.
So basically scouts massively massively over rated him coming out of HS as he was a 5 star recruit and the top QB in his class. He plays 1 year at Ohio state and then transfers to Texas where his lack of talent was exposed
Ridiculous. Fact is he wasn’t good enough. He was drafted based on his high school ranking and nothing like else
The guy’s deep balls look like punts. He’s gonna bounce around a few practice squads, that’s it.
Agent knows he dropped the ball by advising sewers to declare and is trying to cover for his own error.
Sewers desperately needed another season in college to repair draft stock.
100%. That never made sense. Even if he were going to be drafted higher, he could have made more money chasing NIL.
He’s still in the league. backup for 7-10 years and then into coaching or broadcasting. He’ll be fine.
The league has code words for “just a guy”.
I hope Miami makes a mistake and cuts him. He’d look great in Rams horns!
Within 2 seconds of seeing him after he was drafted you can see why he slid…
His torso is the same diameter as his waist.
Won’t last even if he can play.
Yep that’s it you nailed it. Because that has nothing to do with nothing except in your mind.
Kinda like the fact that I was too good looking in high school – none of the cheerleaders would go out with me for fear of me taking attention away from them. I needed this agent to do my talking. How stupid.