Teams heading into the NFL Draft that are quarterback-needy like the Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, and Cleveland Browns are aiming to draft their franchise quarterbacks with the likes of Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, and Jaxson Dart coming off the board in the first few picks of the draft.
However, other teams are going to look for a young quarterback who can be on their roster and act as a serviceable backup; enter Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers.
Quinn Ewers’ Journey to the NFL
The San Antonian Texas native began his football journey as a five-star recruit and the top-ranked player in the 2021 high school class. He initially enrolled at Ohio State before transferring to Texas, where he quickly assumed the starting quarterback role. His arm strength, accuracy, and composure under pressure have been a staple of his, drawing comparisons to Joe Burrow’s demeanor on and off the field.
In the 2024 season, he completed 65.8% of his passes for 3,472 yards, throwing 31 touchdowns against 12 interceptions and achieving a QBR of 75.4, which ranked 21st nationally.
Ewers is a Good Backup Idea For Any Team
Ewers is not expected to be any team’s starting quarterback for the upcoming season, but he would be a strong backup to have on any team. A perfect example of this is Dak Prescott in the 2016 draft. Prescott was selected in the 4th round with the 135th pick by the Dallas Cowboys. At the time the Cowboys had Tony Romo as their quarterback, so there wasn’t a major need at that position.
Romo would later suffer a career-ending injury in a pre-season game against the Seahawks and Prescott ran with the job. It sounds as if the Cowboys are one of the teams that are going to visit with Ewers ahead of the draft:
“The plan is for him to meet with the Jets and Las Vegas Raiders today and have dinner with the New Orleans Saints brass tonight, with all three teams expected to send big crews to Austin. He’s already had 30 visits set up with the Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, and Raiders for early April” according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
Which Team Makes the Most Sense for Ewers?
He is a projected mid to late second or round selection but a team might fall in love with him and take him at the bottom of the 1st round. One team that comes up a lot in talks with Ewers and makes a ton of sense is the Las Vegas Raiders.
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The Raiders brought in 34-year-old Geno Smith to reunite him with head coach Pete Carroll, and Ewers might be the perfect bridge quarterback for the organization. Carroll has had a ton of success with young quarterbacks from his days in USC to Seattle with the Seahawks where he and Russell Wilson went to two Super Bowls, winning one of them.
Smith will be turning 35 in October and is in the final year of his contract, meaning that Ewers can sit on the bench all season, learn from a veteran, and absorb as much knowledge as he possibly can to potentially be the Raiders quarterback of the future.
Darkhorse Team Interested in Ewers
When evaluating the best organizational fit for Ewers you have to look at teams that have weapons and can leverage his strengths. The Los Angeles Rams are a dark horse team that can emerge as a compelling option.
Head coach Sean McVay, known for his innovative offensive schemes could be a place where Ewers can thrive. You look at the weapons they have: Kyren Williams, Puka Nacua, Davante Adams, and former Longhorn teammate Jordan Whittington and you can understand why the Rams’ system where you have to make quick decision-making and accuracy would work so well for him.
Learning under Matthew Stafford, even if that means he’s the third-string, will be invaluable for Ewers. Even if he has to sit behind Jimmy Garoppolo would mean that he has a chance to be a part of a winning organization with great pieces around it.
While Ewers has no say in which round he will get drafted and to what organization, he has the making of a guy who can be a serviceable backup and potentially a starter down the line. Having him sit on the bench for a season or two could benefit him, and at age 22, there is still so much that he can learn from a veteran quarterback.