The Miami Dolphins ended Quinn Ewers fall in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Ewers surprised many when he opted to enter the draft in the first place, as he could've made far more money on the NIL market via the transfer portal. The Texas Longhorns plan to start Arch Manning this season in Austin, which all but ended Ewers tenure.
Ewers had a tough go of it his final season at Texas. Not only was he injured, but seemingly every bad throw or decision was greeted with calls for his starting job. Manning is the grandson of Archie Manning, and the nephew of Peyton and Eli. The Mannings are a family full of Hall of Famers for a reason. Assuming Arch performs up to par at Texas, he could be the No. 1 overall pick in next year's draft.
Arch Manning helped Quinn Ewers land with Miami Dolphins
While Arch has far more promise than Ewers, the Dolphins remained impressed with how the latter handled himself.
“Mike [McDaniel] and I, we met him the year before at the Texas workout and we spent some time,” Dolphins GM Will Grier said. “We talked to coach [Steve] Sarkisian about him, and ‘Sark’ really likes and was high [on him] and was talking about him playing through the injuries this year, which affected his play a little bit. But talked about his toughness, his mental toughness, the pushing through with the injury, the expectations, all the pressure with [Arch] Manning there coming in, and so he loved his competitiveness and how he plays and how his teammates respond to him."
Despite the pressure Ewers surely felt throughout the season, he finished the campaign with 3.472 yards passing, 31 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Ewers led Texas to the College Football Playoff semifinal, where the Longhorns lost to the eventual champion Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl.
Quinn Ewers Texas ties impressed Dolphins
Perhaps most important to the Dolphins were the similarities between Mike McDaniel's system and that of Steve Sarkisian. Grier admitted the Dolphins had their eye on Ewers on Day 3 in part because of those commonalities.
"I think one of the things that gives him an advantage as a rookie just getting started is that overlap. I think the way that he orchestrates the offense from the motion timing and really anticipating things, there’s a fit there, so we’re excited to get him in the program and start working," McDaniel said.
While Ewers is set to chart his own path in the NFL without Manning and Texas, he has both parties to thank for his comfortable landing spot in Miami.