Seven analysts and Texas coach weigh in on new Dolphins rookie quarterback Quinn Ewers
What seven national analysts (and Texas’ head coach) are saying about new Dolphins quarterback Quinn Ewers, who was selected in the seventh round on Saturday:
▪ ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.: He has a “27-9 career record. You’ve got to give him credit for being tough and gutting it out when he’s not 100 percent. He had some good games this year. Go back to the game against Michigan at Michigan. Completed 67 percent of his passes, three touchdowns, no picks.
“But in the SEC Championship and three playoff games thereafter, seven touchdowns, five picks. So inconsistency was there in big spots. He has the touch, can throw off platform, has toughness.
“Decision-making under pressure is questionable. I want to see him throw the 99 mph fastball once in a while. We didn’t see it. We saw the touch. We saw the accuracy. I saw him in the Alabama game where he bowled me over. He didn’t build on that. Did injuries play a factor? Maybe.
“Can he be a backup in the NFL? Yes. Is he a starter? That’s the debate. There can be a chip [on his shoulder]. Make them pay” for not drafting him sooner.
▪ ESPN’s Matt Miller: “He has proven he can be a point guard. This is a very good fit for him. What he’s able to do is stand in the pocket, play on time, play in rhythm. That’s what Mike McDaniel wants.
“McDaniel is going to tell you where to go with the ball. He will be getting coaching, getting the development. Miami is a really good landing spot for him. Injuries held him back from being what he could be. He would have games like the Oklahoma game, where he would throw it away with a bad decision.”
▪ ESPN’s Louis Riddick: “I don’t ever see him being a starter in the NFL quite honestly. It never seemed like he was able to put any juice on it. The play style seemed so lethargic, like in the NFL they would eat him up if it wasn’t open for him immediately. A little Chad Penningtonesque, but Chad was an effective quarterback. [Ewers] didn’t do it for me.”
▪ NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah: “With Ewers, I watched him over the summer and was excited about him coming into the year. I felt like I was higher on him than a lot of people, but I saw some good things from his tape. I saw someone who I thought had some twitch to him, quick eyes, quick release.
“I was hoping he would take that next step. Because he didn’t play as well, he wasn’t as urgent and quick, … but then he had the oblique that bothered him and he had a high ankle sprain. So how much did that impact him? He didn’t play as well as me and some others had hoped he would based off where he was last year.”
Ewers battled multiple injuries throughout his college career, missing at least two games in each of his three seasons in Austin. Last season, Ewers ranked fourth in the SEC with 3,472 yards on 65.8-percent passing but also had an SEC-worst 12 interceptions.
▪ NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein: Miami “is one of the best places he could go in the seventh round. Ewers’ arm talent and game flashes are enticing, but he hasn’t learned to play the game with a high enough level of consistency. The tape of road wins over Alabama and Michigan over the last two seasons showed the clearest picture of Ewers’ ceiling.
“He spins it with a sudden release and good touch over the first two levels and makes it look easy when he finds a rhythm. He won a high percentage of his career starts but struggled to put points on the board in most big games in 2024. Ewers rarely operates as a smooth, full-field reader.
“He often predetermines his target and throws into coverage instead of taking what the defense is offering. A lack of escapability will require him to process quickly enough to stay ahead of NFL blitz packages. The raw talent and upside will be alluring for pro-style passing attacks, but it’s fair to wonder if he will ever be able to rise above the talent on his roster and the ability of his play-caller to create favorable terms.”
▪ NFL.com’s Chad Reuter loved the pick: “Ewers might be likened to [Dolphins backup QB] Zach Wilson in unflattering ways, but the fact is, Miami found a potential NFL starting quarterback in the seventh round. If nothing else, a few strong preseason and injury fill-in efforts by Ewers could turn him into a future trade asset.”
▪ NFL Network’s Bucky Brooks: The Dolphins drafting him in the seventh round “works for me because of how quickly he gets the ball out of his hands. That offense fits his skill set.”
Can he anticipate like Tua Tagovailoa? No, says Zierlein and Brooks.
“He has to see it before he believes it,” Brooks said. “He has been maddeningly inconsistent.”
Sarkisian weighs in
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian offered these comments on Ewers on Monday:
“I think all of us wish he would have gotten drafted higher, but at the end of the day if I could have picked a place that I think is a great fit for him, I think Miami is a great fit. Systematically, what Coach McDaniel does is if not exactly the same very similar to what we do. There’s going to be a level of comfort for him in style of play. He’s got a lot of great weapons on the outside. It’s a warm weather place. In the end, I think it’s a good fit for him. Now it’s about taking advantage about the opportunity that presents itself.”
On Ewers falling in the draft, the coach said: “I feel for Quinn. “He was a great player for us. I think about a lot of the people who have come into this program over the past four years that have impacted the growth and the trajectory of our program, and he’s right there near the top if not at the top with the impact that he’s had not only on the field but off the field. His ability to help recruit other players to come be part of our program.
“Through all this talk about collective and the things that were going on in the world of NIL. He never took money from our collective. All of what he did through NIL was his true name, image, and likeness. The intent of the rule. On that front, I’m very grateful for what he did for our program.”
This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 1:34 PM.
