About a year ago, Texas QB Quinn Ewers was a popular pick to be the No. 1 selection in the NFL Draft in 2025. However, an up-and-down junior year in 2024 has seen him freefall down big boards everywhere. All the way down to Day 3 in some places. Despite that, he still declared for the 2025 NFL Draft. Stephen A. Smith was speaking for all of us when he gave his opinion as to why Ewers made that decision.
Advertisement
If you know football, you know the Mannings are football royalty. And the latest prodigy of the Manning QB dynasty is Texas’ Arch Manning, a five-star recruit that joined the Longhorns in 2023. With a player of that caliber knocking on the door, Stephen A. believes Ewers knew his time was up, as the Longhorns will likely move to the Manning era in 2025.
“The man knows this is Arch Manning’s team. Like you said, ‘You ain’t got to go home, but you got to get the hell up out of here.’ That’s why he’s entering the NFL Draft. That’s not to say he can’t play, that’s not to say he can’t end up being a good quarterback on the NFL level, we wish him nothing but the best,” Stephen A. said on First Take.
Smith pointed out that Ewers’ Texas career wasn’t even over before Longhorns fans began calling for Manning to take the field. This, despite the fact that Ewers and his teammates were on track for an 11-3 season and a berth in the final four of the newly formatted 12-team College Football Playoff.
“But in the same breath, Arch Manning showed up—you had people clamoring for Arch Manning even as the Texas Longhorns were making their run to the CFP semifinal.”
Ewers had his run in Austin, but clearly, it’s now Arch Manning’s time to shine in Texas’ backfield. However, would it have benefitted Ewers more to remain in the NCAA in 2025? Or did he make the right decision declaring for the draft?
Ewers could make more money in college than the pros in 2025
It’s not just the presence of Arch Manning, though. Stephen A. Smith argued that another reason for Ewers to head to the pros instead of remaining in college for his senior year was that he could hurt his draft stock even more if he transfers to another program and has a similarly uneven season as he had as a junior in 2024.
“This was inevitable, we get it, I’m not surprised that he made this decision at all. It was a decision he had to make. Because transferring to another program at the collegiate level, and risking showing up the way you showed up against Ohio State. Clearly, that’s not what you want. Therefore, go to the pros and press your luck that way. I’m not surprised by this decision at all.”
Smith makes a good point that a return to college is risky. But these athletes usually like to bet on themselves. Being dominated by a team like Ohio State is hardly a deal-breaker, either. He could have more success elsewhere, where he won’t have the progeny of a football dynasty breathing down his neck.
Not to mention that he could make a lot more money through NIL deals than he would on a mid-round rookie NFL contract. Ewers is projected as a mid-to-late round pick, so somewhere in the 4th to 6th rounds. Last year, Spencer Rattler was taken in the 5th by the New Orleans Saints and signed a deal that pays him around $1.1 million a year.
For comparison, Carson Beck, who is rated a little bit higher than Ewers, decided to return to college in 2025. He reportedly signed a $4 million NIL deal with the Miami Hurricanes to transfer and play his senior year there. Ewers could have gotten something similar.
There is the risk of sustaining another injury or playing so poorly for a new college team in 2025 that Quinn Ewers misses his chance at the NFL altogether. However, the rewards would have outweighed the risks for him. An extra year at another prestigious college program would have earned Ewers more NIL money and the chance to rebuild his image in the eyes of NFL scouts.
