Quinn Ewers was the 13th and final QB taken in the 2025 NFL Draft. But he’s one of the first to earn a win as an NFL starter.
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The Miami Dolphins decided to roll Ewers out for the final three weeks, and after a rough debut, he found his footing in Week 17 in a 20-17 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Ewers went 14-for-22 for 172 yards, two TDs, and zero turnovers.
It was an encouraging performance for a late-round pick. But it also proved something for Hall of Famer Cris Carter: Quinn Ewers is never going to be a franchise quarterback in the NFL. Carter believes Ewers simply doesn’t have a strong enough arm to hold down a starting job in the pros. When asked whether he thinks Ewers will be Miami’s starting QB in 2026, Carter did not hesitate.
“Absolutely not. There’s no way. He’s not good enough. No, his arm’s not strong enough. There’s a reason why you get drafted in the seventh round,” said the former wide receiver.
However, Carter took it even further than that. He said Ewers proving he will not be a starting-caliber QB in the NFL also reflects poorly on his former backup at Texas, Arch Manning. Manning arrived in Austin in 2023, but he was never able to displace Ewers, who remained the starter until the end of 2024, when his eligibility was up.
And if Arch Manning couldn’t leapfrog a guy like Quinn Ewers, who was a seventh-round pick and seems to have “career backup” written all over him, Carter believes that could spell trouble for Manning’s own NFL prospects as well.
“It also tells a story about college football in Texas. I saw Arch Manning this year, so now I see why he couldn’t beat Quinn Ewers out that last year when Quinn decides to come back and play… And he was no threat to beat him out. And he’s only a seventh-rounder. So we saw Archie this year, there’s a reason why he announced he’s coming back. Not ready,” Carter explained.
However, while Carter does worry about Manning, he still believes in the youngster’s pedigree and his talent. The former wideout said that he doesn’t believe Ewers will “ever” have the ability to be a franchise quarterback, but he does believe Manning will get there with another year at Texas and some more development to start his NFL career in a couple of years.
Manning took over starting duties for Texas this year and led a team that was ranked No. 1 in the nation before the season to an uneven 9-3 record. They missed out on the College Football Playoff, finishing the season ranked No. 13, just outside the 12-team tourney. They take on No. 18 Michigan in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando on New Year’s Eve.
Manning finished the pre-Bowl season with 2,942 passing yards and a 24-7 TD-INT ratio to go with 244 yards and another eight scores on the ground. He also put up a 61.7 completion percentage, 8.0 yards per attempt, and a 145.8 college passer rating.
And he will be back in 2026 to improve on those mediocre totals and leave Ewers comparisons in 2025.
