Why Did Texas QB Quinn Ewers Slide in the 2025 NFL Draft?

At this point, you’ve probably heard constant takes about Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders’ fall to the 5th round of the NFL draft a couple of weeks ago. We even touched on it a bit. However, he’s not the only notable QB who slid. Texas’ Quinn Ewers, a former 5-star recruit and projected 3rd-round selection, lasted until round 7. Miami finally ended his wait there, but I haven’t seen nearly enough discussion about what happened. Here, we’ll take a look at why Quinn Ewers fell in the 2025 NFL draft. That will involve diving into on-the-field concerns, any off-field questions, and teams’ evaluations. Let’s see what we can find out!

The Top Report About Why Quinn Ewers Fell Makes No Sense

This topic isn’t entirely devoid of takes in the media. The main talking point comes from Ewers’ own agent, Ron Slavin, which would normally be a very good place to start. He claims that teams are telling him that they had Ewers graded in the 3rd or 4th round but that he was “too big of a name to be a clipboard holder”. I’m not buying that explanation, and I don’t think Slavin does either. He slammed the excuse as “ridiculous”, likely arguing that talent should be the deciding factor. I agree with him, and the main reason I say that is because of the other QB who fell for that type of reason: Shedeur Sanders.

Sanders wasn’t viewed by teams as a 1st-round talent like he was in the media. Still, his ability suggested he should’ve gone on day 2. However, the more he fell, the more he veered into backup territory, and teams feel a particular way about backup QBs. Namely, they don’t want those players to make any noise or cause distractions. Sanders, with his 2Legendary brand and constant social media presence, spooked teams in that regard. Yet he still got picked before Ewers, who does not have a big mouth or ego. From a physical standpoint, Ewers might be a superior prospect. Thus, the “big name” argument doesn’t hold water for me.

Quinn Ewers’ Arm Strength and Mobility Left a Bit to be Desired

Now that we’ve eliminated the reported reason, which we believe is untrue, what actually caused Ewers’ slide? Assuming that talent really does drive picks and that no serious off-field issues were in his background (and from what I understand, there were none whatsoever), let’s take a look at the physical profile. At 6’2″ and 214 lbs, he has plenty of size. I see no problem with his hand length (9 3/8″) either. Beyond the raw numbers though, Ewers is not the most athletic guy. His movement in the pocket is fine, but he’s not a real threat to run, which gives some teams pause in the current NFL with dual-threat QBs.

One less-talked-about deficiency was Ewers’ arm strength. While he seemed able to make all the throws in college, he does not possess a cannon. On deeper passes, he had to put more air under the ball instead of driving it. Some scouts worry that NFL DBs will be able to use the time granted by those lofted throws to make plays on the football. From what I saw, Ewers’ arm was plenty adequate, but the offense did seem to be tailored to mask any deficiencies. At the Combine, his throwing session was only solid. Any lingering doubts held by scouts clearly carried over to the draft. Otherwise, Ewers would’ve been gone before round 7.

Ewers’ 2024 Production was Down Due to an Oblique Injury

Ewers had only 7 less yards in 2024 than he did in 2023, and he had 9 more TD passes (31 vs. 22). However, that included two extra games due to the new CPF format. In addition, his INTs doubled from 6 to 12, and his completion percentage fell by 3.2. The tape simply wasn’t quite as good as it was a year earlier. One explanation for this is an oblique injury. He tore the muscle back in week 2 and played through it all season. While I’d give Ewers points for toughness and commitment, he does have an injury history. He missed 3 games in 2022 with a clavicle injury and 2 more in 2023 with a shoulder ailment.

To his credit, Ewers still performed well enough to hold off touted true sophomore Arch Manning. He also led Texas to the CFP Semifinal game, including a great effort against Arizona State. You can’t deny though that he gets nicked up somewhat frequently. These injuries aren’t freak occurrences either, leading to some durability concerns. Ewers’ injury situation reminds me of Trevor Lawrence. When the Jags’ QB is right, he plays really well. However, when he’s less than 100%, his performance declines. Ewers didn’t experience as drastic a drop, but when you’re already teetering between draft rounds, these things have an impact.

Those Two Games Against the Georgia Bulldogs…

From my point of view, this topic is the one that hurts Ewers the most. Upon joining the SEC, Texas knew they’d have to play Georgia at some point. The teams actually met twice in 2024, with the Longhorns coming up short both times. In the first matchup, Ewers had arguably the worst game of his college career. The stats (25/43, 211 yards, 2 TDs, INT, 2 FUM lost) weren’t great, but the tape was worse. Ewers panicked constantly under pressure, which came his way often. He took 7 sacks (two strip sacks) and couldn’t beat a team whose own QB (Carson Beck) threw 3 INTs.

Manning came in for a bit during that game, which coach Steve Sarkisian said was to allow Ewers to clear his head. Though he claimed that benching Ewers was never on the table, that was the closest he came to losing the starting role. The second meeting, in the SEC Championship game, was more of a mixed bag. Ewers (27/46, 358 yards, TD, 2 INTs) struggled mightily with just 6 points through 3 quarters before forcing OT with a furious 4th-quarter rally. Nonetheless, he once again couldn’t lead his team past Georgia. This time he lost to Gunner Stockton, as Beck tore his UCL during the game.

You don’t want to harp on two games when a guy has 3 full years as a starter under his belt. That said, it can be argued that the Bulldogs represented the closest thing to a pro team that Ewers would face in college, and he flunked his two tests against them. They were the only games in which his offensive line didn’t hold up, and he fared poorly. Ewers’ decision-making skills evaporated, and he couldn’t get out of his own way. I have no doubt that this pair of high-profile games hurt Ewers in his evaluations. This was the one thing that could have legitimately pushed him behind similar prospects on teams’ boards.

Should Ewers Have Gone Back to School, and What Happens Next?

The obvious question after reading all this is: should Ewers have returned to college? He had 1 more year of eligibility remaining, and supposedly another team offered him $8M for that final year. Admirably, Ewers wanted to finish as a Longhorn, and he couldn’t play another year at Texas because of Manning’s presence. The younger QB’s time had come, and a transfer would’ve been required. Monetarily though, transferring would have been the correct call. On his rookie deal with the Dolphins, Ewers is making just $4.3M over 4 years. That’s far less than his reported NIL offer for just one year.

Even if Ewers rightly believed that he was a 3rd-round prospect, the contracts for those players came in between $5.96M and $6.48M (also for 4 years). That’s still less than his single-year offer. Clearly, money didn’t guide him here, but I can also make a football argument for staying in school. With a new team, Ewers could have tried to put a healthy year in scouts’ minds while also developing further. Extra college playing time did wonders for 2024 rookies Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix. The 2026 class is expected to be harder to compete with, but an improved Ewers would likely fare well in those hypothetical evaluations.

I’d guess that Ewers regrets his decision to declare for the draft, but hindsight is 20-20. All he can do now is focus on being the best Miami Dolphin he can be. For his long-term future, this is a sneaky-good landing spot. HC Mike McDaniel is a noted QB tutor who comes from the Shanahan line of coaching. It wouldn’t be a shock if Ewers beats Zach Wilson out for the backup job by next year. I hate to say it, starter Tua Tagovailoa also has a poor injury record. Thus, Ewers could even end up starting during his rookie contract. I’m sure he hated draft weekend, but Ewers could still carve out a nice pro career.