NFL coaches, executives have their doubts about Quinn Ewers.
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Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers is projected to be anywhere from a second to fourth-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft, but a report published Thursday by On3 quoted several anonymous NFL coaches and executives with concern about his potential.
While Ewers is the sixth-best quarterback prospect in the draft, according to The Athletic’s beasts list, there were several notable concerns about the former Longhorn throughout his career.
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He was often criticized for not throwing deep, lack of awareness in the pocket and inability to make plays with his feet when needed. Cap that off with sour endings to two of his best years: failing to tie the Washington Huskies on four attempts at the end zone from 12 yards away in the 2023 Sugar Bowl, then getting intercepted by Ohio State on a pitch from the 1-yard line with a chance to come back in the Cotton Bowl.
According to On3, some coaches echoed similar concerns about the quarterback.
“He’s more player than talent,” an AFC executive told On3. “He’s just not a big kid [6-2 1/8, 214]. He’s been hurt every year since high school. The arm’s very average. There’s not a lot of talent there. He’s not a starter. He’s a distributor. He’s a point guard. He ain’t going to push it down the field.”
Despite leading the Longhorns to back-to-back College Football Playoff Semifinal appearances, Ewers still managed to not deliver on his potential in the eyes of his critics. It didn’t help that he was the No. 1 overall quarterback and recruit in the nation as a prospect, and made headlines for reclassifying to the 2021 class and enrolling at Ohio State early. Ewers became a textbook reference at the dawn of name, image and likeness laws, choosing to go to school in a state that had more opportunities for him to profit earlier in his career.
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But Ewers redshirted in a quarterback room with Kyle McCord and C.J. Stroud, and opted to transfer home for the 2022 season, the second year of the Steve Sarkisian-era at Texas. Ewers completed 172-of-296 passes (58.1 percent) for 2,177 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions during his freshman season, leading the team to an 8-5 finish and a loss in the Alamo Bowl.
He seemed to take a step forward the following season, completing 69 percent of his passes for 3,479 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions while averaging a career-high 289.9 yards per game. But his abysmal performance in the Sugar Bowl against a Washington secondary that wasn’t supposed to compete put a spotlight on his performance in big games, particularly since the team was just 13 yards away from the game-winning touchdown that would’ve solidified their berth to a national championship game and Ewers fired four incomplete passes to end it.
“Just the arm strength and some of the decision-making [are concerns],” an NFC quarterbacks coach told On3. “He’s going to have a big jump, too, just as far as what’s asked of him at the next level. But he’s somebody you can see develop, develop, develop and then — bang! Because there’s a competitor there that’s hard to teach and there’s an intelligence factor there that’s hard to teach.”
His final season was more concerning as Ewers threw a career-high 12 interceptions. He finished the year completing 66 percent of his passes for 31 touchdowns, averaging 248 passing yards per game with a shaky running game in tow.
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Ewers also missed time in all three seasons at Texas: a broken clavicle in 2022, a shoulder injury in 2023 and oblique strain in 2024. In total, Ewers missed seven games in his three-year career with the Longhorns. Multiple reports say that he played through the torn oblique during his final season, which could’ve impacted his red zone passing.
“He can hit short and intermediate, but he’s like an all-arm thrower,” said an AFC coordinator. “He never uses his lower body and he’s not accurate down the field.”
Ewers is projected to go as high as No. 52 (second round) to the Seattle Seahawks by NFL.com, and as low as 154th (fifth round) to the Indianapolis Colts by CBS Sports.
Ewers was draft-eligible after the 2023 season, but opted to return to school. Though his final year didn’t go as planned, with Arch Manning waiting in the wings, it didn’t seem a return was in his best interest. In January, former ESPN Analyst Todd McShay suggested that Ewers go back to school as a graduate transfer, but also understood why that may not be the best answer either.
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“I don’t know that another year with Quinn Ewers is necessarily going to change him like I think it could elevate a Carson Beck, Garrett Nussmeier, if I’m being totally honest,” McShay said on The McShay Show. “When I talk to NFL teams, I’ve solicited and I’ve gotten unsolicited. … When I’m talking to guys in the league—landslide: ‘He needs to grad transfer.'”
That didn’t happen, as Ewers was set on being a Longhorn for life.
