Quinn Ewers has been one of the top QBs in college football over the last few years. He was the 2023 Big 12 Championship MVP, and he graced the cover of EA Sports College Football 25, perhaps the most highly anticipated sports video game of all time. So, it should come as no surprise that Ewers has declared for the 2025 NFL Draft despite just finishing his junior year.
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One of the Draft’s top QBs makes it official: Headed to the NFL. https://t.co/rMfDYGH5qT
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 15, 2025
Ewers will enter the league as part of a class that has not gotten a lot of love from pundits and scouts. The quarterback crop, in particular, has been noted to be especially subpar. Ewers was viewed as arguably the best QB prospect in the NCAA last year, but now he’s viewed as the 4th or 5th-best and a possible Day 2 pick. CBS analyst Ryan Wilson believes injuries have significantly contributed to this decline.
“He’s been unable to stay healthy and we’ve seen that not only this season, but throughout the year. He had a high ankle sprain late this season. He had the oblique injury earlier in the season. We saw a handful of games from Arch Manning. The lack of consistency, and the inability to stay on the field because of health issues, are what ultimately led to the conversations we had about maybe Quinn Ewers should return to school.”
Wilson noted that Ewers has great arm strength and better mobility than people gave him credit for after losing some weight. He can make every throw on the field, but it’s that reliability factor that is probably giving NFL front offices pause.
“Rick Spielman says this all the time: If you’re injury prone, historically you remain injury prone. So, hopefully, that’s not the story that Quinn Ewers has to look forward to. But if you’re asking me, if he’s perfectly healthy and is playing at his highest level, I’m still taking Cam Ward, I’m still taking Shedeur Sanders.”
Though he will be returning to school after transferring from Georgia to Miami, Carson Beck is another player Wilson would have taken over Ewers in this draft. However, he wasn’t done there.
CBS Analyst is low on Quinn Ewers
The CBS analyst started moving down the list even further after that. He said that he would consider taking Alabama QB Jalen Milroe over Quinn Ewers as well, thanks to the former’s superior arm strength and athleticism. Once again, Wilson harped on consistency being an area where Ewers was lacking.
“And then the question becomes: Are you gonna gamble on a Jalen Milroe, player who’s similar in some respects to Anthony Richardson, who was a top five pick? Because Quinn Ewers doesn’t have the athleticism and arm strength of a Jalen Milroe, and he doesn’t have the traits Shedeur has at Colorado and that we see from Cam Ward, consistently. And that’s the big issue.”
As many other draft experts have done, Wilson also lowered Ewers on his own big board. He was considered a possibility for the No. 1 pick barely a year ago. Now, Ewers could very well fall to Day 3 after his up-and-down 2024 campaign.
“Hopefully he stays healthy and hopefully he balls out. But history typically tells the story of what we have to look forward to, and that’s why I think he’s a best-case Day 2 guy, and them if teams have some concerns, trepidation, he may end up slipping into Day 3.”
Quinn Ewers will have just a few more chances to impress NFL scouts before the draft. Most top guys have stopped throwing at the official NFL Combine. If Ewers follows suit, as Wilson points out, Ewers will have to “ball out” at his personal pro day. The Ewers household better brace themselves for the wait come NFL Draft weekend.
