Quinn Ewers’ NFL Draft case still has flaws, but Texas QB made the right call to go pro
When Quinn Ewers explained last summer why he came back to Texas instead of entering the 2024 NFL Draft, he pointed to the additional experience he believed he needed to increase his chances at pro success.
The Longhorns quarterback said he found that 25 college starts was the line of demarcation: Some quarterbacks with less college playing experience still thrive in the NFL, but for those with more, “You really see a jump in how their career went.” Of the top 32 NFL quarterbacks in passing yards in 2024, all but seven hit that 25-start threshold. Ewers was at 22 college starts after the 2023 season.
“I don’t want to be a guy that just comes and goes,” Ewers said at SEC media day in July. “I want to be somebody who’s remembered.”
On Wednesday, Ewers announced that he’s declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft, officially closing the book on his Texas career. He’ll be remembered fondly on the Forty Acres for lifting the Longhorns back to national prominence via consecutive College Football Playoff semifinal appearances. But he was often scrutinized by fans and casual observers for what he wasn’t: the nearly flawless quarterback he was projected to become as the No. 1 recruit in America coming out of high school. Ewers was very good but didn’t become an All-American or Heisman Trophy finalist, and the presence of a backup quarterback with a famous last name (Arch Manning) at Texas for the past two years added another layer of intrigue.
If it comes as a surprise that Ewers is going pro rather than returning to school and entering the transfer portal, it shouldn’t. Yes, there were rumors of millions waiting for Ewers from another school, including a report from On3 that one school was willing to pay him $6 million to enter the portal and transfer for one more year of college football.
But Ewers wants to be in the NFL, and delaying that pursuit any further doesn’t make much sense for him.
Ewers started 36 games at Texas, going 27-9. Developmentally, he has shown all of what he is as a college quarterback. Even though he is no longer viewed as a first-round draft pick by NFL scouts, it seems unlikely that 12 more college starts would drastically change how scouts feel about him. His extensive body of work has displayed his strengths and weaknesses for all to see.
“He is at his ceiling,” said an NFL scout this week, granted anonymity because he was not permitted by his team to publicly comment on prospects.
That’s not to say it would be impossible for Ewers to change that evaluation with one more year. LSU’s Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels, Oregon’s Bo Nix and Miami’s Cam Ward all did wonders for themselves in the eyes of NFL teams during their final year of college football.
But, as The Athletic’s NFL Draft expert Dane Brugler put it, those are best-case scenarios. Ewers would risk his draft stock falling further with another year in college, and with Texas excited to usher in its Manning era in 2025, that year likely would be spent at a new school with unfamiliar surroundings. On top of that, Ewers has an injury history that isn’t worth pushing, having missed games in each of his three years as a starter with upper-body ailments: a clavicle injury in 2022, an AC joint sprain in 2023 and a strained oblique this season.
Ewers was already itching to go pro last offseason before deciding to return. The 2023 season was his best year statistically, including career highs in completion percentage (69 percent), yards per attempt (8.8), touchdown-to-interception ratio (3.7) and passer rating (158.6). All those numbers dipped in 2024. Some of the backslide could be attributed to his completely new supporting cast, with receivers Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, Jordan Whittington, tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders and running back Jonathon Brooks all in the NFL.
This year’s thin quarterback draft class also gives Ewers a fresh chance to use his physical tools and in-person interviews to woo evaluators who are on the fence about him during the pre-draft process. After Ward and Shedeur Sanders, there are no slam dunk first-round options at the position.
As for the money he may be leaving on the table: Ewers has made quite a bit since he entered college. He left Southlake (Texas) Carroll High a year early and enrolled at Ohio State to cash in on hefty name, image and likeness deals that he couldn’t earn as a high school athlete in Texas because state law prohibited it. He racked up double-digit NIL deals during his time at Texas, starred in a national Dr. Pepper commercial, was on the cover of EA Sports College Football 25 and partnered with other big brands, like New Era, Panini, Lucchese, car dealerships and even a private jet company.
Even if the $6 million offer truly existed, a second NFL contract could dwarf that if Ewers were to work his way into a starting role and succeed early in his career. Even if he winds up at the lower end of his projection in the fourth round of the draft, he’ll likely have the chance to develop behind an established starter in a pro environment. That would be better for his growth than spending another year in college football.
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Texas Longhorns, College Football, NFL
