Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers was the nation’s top overall recruit in 2021. After initially enrolling at Ohio State, Ewers returned to his home state to play for the Texas Longhorns.
For prospects who aren’t competing in the College Football Playoff National Championship, Wednesday is the deadline to declare for the 2025 NFL Draft, so all eyes are on Ewers to see if he will go pro or accept a lucrative offer to continue his college football career.
Will Quinn Ewers Declare For the 2025 NFL Draft?
Ewers has officially decided to enter the 2025 NFL Draft.
Breaking: Quinn Ewers is declaring for the NFL draft, his agent told @PeteThamel.
He leaves Texas with two CFP appearances and a 21-5 record as the Longhorns' starting QB the last two seasons. pic.twitter.com/zCD64jgrdt
— ESPN (@espn) January 15, 2025
While Ewers has yet to live up to the expectations placed upon him coming out of high school, he is still expected to be selected relatively high in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Prior to the College Football Playoff Semifinals last week, the Texas quarterback was interviewed on ESPN’s “College GameDay” and said “yes” when asked if he expects to play in the NFL next season. He did walk it back a bit by adding, “We’ll see.”
Shortly after, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that the “overwhelming likelihood” is that Ewers will declare for the 2025 NFL Draft.
As ESPN’s Field Yates noted, Ewers’ decision was highly anticipated.
Perhaps the most notable player who not yet formally announced his decision: Texas QB Quinn Ewers. https://t.co/iDBhgHPkGm
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) January 15, 2025
Arch Manning will now take the reigns at Texas. Ahead of his decision, there had been rumblings that at least one school had offered him $6 million to transfer.
In Pro Football Network’s latest seven-round 2025 NFL mock draft, Ewers was projected to go in the second round (No. 59 overall) to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Ewers has an ADP of 43.2 in Pro Football Network’s Mock Draft Simulator. This graph shows how his ADP has changed over time, showing that he has seen a nice boost in recent months.
Ewers’ Scouting Report
Ewers has a well-documented five-star pedigree, and his elite composite arm talent has drawn the awe of onlookers for years on end. But that ranking has also contributed to lots of residual hype in his draft-eligible phase — and in truth, he has more work to do.
Ewers’ arm elasticity is special, and it allows him to remain a passing threat from virtually any platform. He has more than enough strength to pair with that angle freedom, and while he’s not overly explosive or fast, he is quick enough to be a modest creative presence.
Going further, the high-end flashes of execution when Ewers is able to channel these tools are very impressive. He can layer pace and touch beautifully on vertical and seam throws, and he does flash the ability to recognize opportunities pre-snap and capitalize.
MORE: Try PFN’s Free Mock Draft Simulator With Trades
Unfortunately, at this moment in his career, Ewers’ execution is still very inconsistent on a down-to-down basis, and much of it stems from his mechanics. While he’s fluid and flexible as a thrower, he also has a frustratingly lax, freestyling mechanical nature that can run counter to optimal timing and alignment.
While Ewers’ arm elasticity can correct imperfect mechanics to a degree, his accuracy to all thirds can be inconsistent because of his lack of base discipline. Additionally, as a processor, his progression work and anticipation also require more consistency.
Because he’s not an elite athlete or creative threat, Ewers needs to refine his operational game and learn to play with more mechanical control and intent.
This season, Ewers has thrown for 3,189 yards, 29 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions on a 66.5% completion percentage, while also rushing for two scores.
Across his collegiate career, Ewers has totaled 8,845 passing yards, 66 passing touchdowns, and 23 interceptions on a 65.1% completion percentage, plus eight rushing TDs.
Potential Landing Spots For Ewers in the 2025 NFL Draft
With Ewers declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft, here are some landing spots that make sense for the Texas quarterback.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Here is what PFN’s Jacob Infante wrote about Ewers to Pittsburgh in his most recent mock draft: “Russell Wilson may have exceeded expectations for the Steelers so far this year, but they’ll inevitably need to find his long-term successor, and Justin Fields may prove too expensive for Pittsburgh to want to retain as a backup.
“Selecting Quinn Ewers would give the Steelers a strong-armed passer with ample upside while still being able to use your first-round pick on other needs. The flashes have been there to project Ewers as an NFL starter, even if he might not be ready right away.”
Wilson and Fields are both pending free agents, so it’s possible Pittsburgh will try to draft their next quarterback of the future.
Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders will likely move on from the duo of Gardner Minshew II and Aidan O’Connell this offseason, and they will be looking for a new quarterback who can take the reins.
While it initially looked like the Raiders might pick No. 1 or No. 2 in the 2025 NFL Draft, their late-season success caused them to slip to the No. 6 overall pick.
With Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward expected to be off the board by the time the Raiders are on the clock, perhaps they will fill other holes early in the draft and then select Ewers in the second or third round.
This would be a solid landing spot for Ewers, as Brock Bowers is already establishing himself as one of the league’s very best tight ends, Jakobi Meyers is a solid second receiver, and he’d have minority owner Tom Brady as a mentor.
New York Giants
After releasing Daniel Jones, the New York Giants are in the market for a new quarterback.
New York met with the QBs in the 2024 NFL Draft and reportedly tried to trade up to select one, but they weren’t able to complete a deal and instead selected Malik Nabers at No. 6 overall.
If New York missed on both Sanders and Ward at No. 3 overall, maybe they take the best player available (like Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter) and then address the quarterback position later.
The Giants recently announced that they are sticking with head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen, and their top priority this offseason will be finding their quarterback of the future.
Now that Daboll is staying, this landing spot becomes more attractive for Ewers since he has a solid track record of developing young quarterbacks. With Nabers in town for the foreseeable future and a dynamic young running back in Tyrone Tracy Jr., Ewers would have some electrifying weapons.