We live in a world where Quinn Ewers almost went undrafted out of Texas. The former star quarterback of the Longhorns did not hear his name called until the end of day three went he landed with the Miami Dolphins in the seventh round of the NFL Draft. Although I like his chances of getting meaningful playing time in Miami, given who is ahead of him on the depth chart, why did he fall there?
Well, in an effort to gather some information for his client, Ewers' agent Ron Slavin reached out to half the league to see what he could find. While Ewers seem slated to be a third-round pick because of injury concerns, a lack of mobility and questionable decision-making in-game, he may have fell to the seventh round because he was too high-profile of a name to be a backup quarterback in the league.
Slavin was not the least bit thrilled with the information he got back on why his client fell so far down.
"They thought he was a third- or fourth-round pick, but too big of a name to be a clipboard holder. Which I think is chickens**t."
Although I am not the biggest Ewers defender known to mankind, that would be my False Start co-host and FanSided.com colleague Cody Williams, I do see a clear pathway towards him playing in Miami. Dolphins starter Tua Tagovailoa is essentially one more head injury away from having to medically retire. His backup Zach Wilson cannot be trusted as far as he can throw a ball in shorts.
What this all boils down to is the Dolphins may have gotten a gem in Ewers, thanks to other teams.
Quinn Ewers falling down the NFL Draft board is the Miami Dolphins' gain
Look. I know what Ewers is as a prospect and what he is not. Initially, I thought he had a chance to be the next Matthew Stafford coming out of high school in Texas. Over time, I realized that was not the case. Throughout his time at Texas, it became obvious to me that he was more like another former Red River Rivalry standout, but from the other sidelines in the Sam Bradford, an incredibly brittle star.
Ewers may be the next Bradford, but his bank account will resemble nothing like what the former Oklahoma star and Heisman Trophy winner collected throughout his middling NFL career. What I am getting at is Ewers' NFL prototype is too good not to work, or simply too compelling to not at least give it an honest shot. Miami is one of the few organizations where I see a pathway through for him.
As it is with everything, where you land matters. Usually going to the Dolphins is not a good thing because the franchise has mostly been chaotic for the last 25 years and change. They have the longest active playoff win drought in the league for a reason. Yet for some reason, I am still a believer in what Ewers can do at the next level. He was built for NFL success, but his road to glory did change.
Ewers may be too high-profile to be a clipboard holder, mostly because he will not do it for very long.