MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Quinn Ewers didn’t expect to slip to the seventh round of the 2025 NFL draft. But when the Dolphins rookie quarterback put on a Miami jersey for the first time Friday, none of that mattered anymore.
Now, the work begins to prove he’s ready for the NFL.
Ewers, drafted 231st last month by Miami, is third on the Dolphins’ depth chart behind starter Tua Tagovailoa and free agent signing Zach Wilson. He was the last quarterback selected in the draft; 13 others were picked before him. Whether it was because of concerns about his consistency or injury history he doesn’t quite know, but he admitted being overlooked is a position he hasn’t been in too often.
“I didn’t expect to fall as low as I did,” Ewers said Friday as the Dolphins opened rookie minicamp. “It is what it is at the end of the day, and I have the same opportunity that everybody else does, and I’m beyond thankful for that. I just want to go in there and play my game and learn and develop as a quarterback.”
Ewers was the top-rated high school quarterback in the country when he signed with Ohio State and left school early to the join the Buckeyes in 2021. After spending a season deep on Ohio State’s depth chart, Ewers transferred to Texas, where was the starter by the 2022 season opener.
The Dolphins were impressed by his experience and how he responded to pressure in college. In three years as the Longhorns’ starter, Ewers led Texas to a Big 12 championship and twice to the College Football Playoff. He passed for 9,128 yards and 68 touchdowns in a career rivaled by few other quarterbacks that have gone through the program.
But he was hindered by various injuries, including an abdomen strain that sidelined him for a couple games this past season. That allowed the Longhorns to get two starts from Arch Manning — the highly touted son of Cooper Manning who Texas fans were eager to see in action despite Ewers’ success.
“We talked to coach (Steve) Sarkisian about him and ‘Sark’ really likes and was high (on him),” general manager Chris Grier said during the draft. “(He) talked about his toughness, his mental toughness, the pushing through with the injury, the expectations, all the pressure with (Arch) Manning there coming in. He loved his competitiveness and how he plays, and how his teammates respond to him.”
Ewers said his immediate NFL goal is to learn Mike McDaniel’s complex playbook and find ways to stand out. The leadership the Dolphins saw in him in college, he said, will go a long way.
“Right now it’s my responsibility to lead all these rookies,” Ewers said. “It’s my opportunity to go get noticed at the end of the day. And I’m going to try to go do that.”
Backup quarterback is an important position in Miami. Tagovailoa has missed at least one game in all but one of his five NFL seasons. The Dolphins used three different quarterbacks last season after injuries limited Tagovailoa to just 11 starts — his fewest since starting nine games his rookie season.
Grier wasted little time in free agency addressing Miami’s need for a backup, signing Wilson to a one-year deal in March. Wilson, the New York Jets’ No. 2 overall pick in 2021, hopes to earn a starting role at some point.
Ewers will be aiming for the same.
“There’s a lot of guys out there right now, and everyone’s fighting for the same job,” Ewers said. “And we’re all competitive, but it’s cool at the same time just because at the end of the day some of these guys are going to end up being teammates with us. But you’ve got to earn the job and earn the trust of those guys as well.”