Dolphins Stock Report: Quinn Ewers continues to impress
Quinn Ewers had a chance to return to college for far more money than he’s making as an NFL seventh-round pick, but it appears the former Texas starter is proving he belongs in the NFL.
Ewers, the former University of Texas starter who got dislodged by Arch Manning, had his second strong practice of Miami’s first five on-field days.
In the final 11-on-11 period of this red zone day Ewers threw three straight touchdowns passes in his three reps.
Each throw was so impressive that Tua Tagovailoa and other members of Miami’s offense erupted, and cheered him on after each play.
At this rate it’s possible Ewers could eventually push Zach Wilson for the backup quarterback role if he continues dealing a hot hand.
Here’s a breakdown of what else happened in Day 5 of training camp.
Top performers
▪ Quarterback Quinn Ewers is clearly beginning to grasp the Dolphins offense and develop chemistry with his back-end-of-the-roster teammates. The rookie has begun to make throws to elicit a head nod, impressing his teammates. It will be interesting to see his progression as he continues to gain comfort in this offense.
▪ Safety Jordan Colbert pulled down an interception on a middle of the field pass from Wilson, and ran it back for a respectable gain. Colbert, who spent all of last season on the Dolphins’ practice squad, is competing for one of the four or five safety spots on the 53-man roster. When you factor in that two draft picks — Patrick McMorris and Dante Trader Jr. — are ahead of him, it’s clear he needs impressive days to extend his start.
▪ Receiver Theo Wease Jr. had back-to-back touchdown catches for Ewers in the final 11-on-11 red zone period. The 6-foot-2, 210 pound undrafted rookie from Missouri has been one of the top playmakers on the third-team unit, and seems to be outperforming Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, who was one of Miami’s top free agent signees this offseason.
Stock up
▪ Chop Robinson has been terrorizing Miami’s offensive tackles all camp, and it doesn’t matter what unit he’s lining up with. His get-off is finger snap quick, and he’s consistently in the backfield all practice. It’ll be interesting to see if Robinson, the Dolphins’ 2024 first-round pick, remains this disruptive when the pads come on Tuesday, and offensive linemen are allowed to be more physical.
Stock down
▪ Addison West was the center behind a few quarterback-to-center exchange issues Miami had early in Monday’s 11-on-11 red zone work. It was the first day of Miami’s five training camp practices where there were issues snapping the football. The undrafted rookie from Western Michigan played center in spurts during college, but with Aaron Brewer and Liam Eichenberg sidelined by injuries, West has been called into duty and needs to tighten up.
Injury updates
▪ Cornerback Kader Kohou, the Dolphins’ most experienced cornerback, injured his right leg Saturday, and coach Mike McDaniel claims there’s too much swelling to get proper diagnosis on the injury. However, it’s not thought to be season-ending at this time.
▪ Cornerback BJ Adams sustained a concussion Saturday and has been placed in the NFL’s concussion protocol program.
▪ Safety Dante Trader Jr. is nursing a soft tissue issue and will be held out of practice for a week, giving him time to heal for Miami’s joint practices against the Chicago Bears next week.
▪ Cornerback Storm Duck was held out of Monday’s practice, but no injury was specified.
▪ Tight end Jalin Conyers has missed two straight practices.
▪ Offensive lineman Liam Eichenberg, who is on the physically unable to perform list, showed up to the practice field for the first time since camp opened and had a compression sleeve on his right leg.
What they said
“The edge is crazy. Oh my God!” linebacker Willie Gay Jr. said, talking about the dominance of Miami’s edge rushers. “I don’t even know who the starters are. Chop [Robinson] is the youngest and [damn]!”
