Cowboys Fave Quinn Ewers In Draft Controversy

Quinn Ewers was once a top-ranked high school quarterback prospect at Southlake Carroll in the DFW metroplex. He was the No. 1 nationally ranked player in the 2021 class and received one of the highest-rated grades of any quarterback recruit, according to various recruitment sites.

After a historic career as the QB of the Texas Longhorns, Ewers decided to forgo his final year of eligibility and enter the 2025 NFL Draft.

While going through the scouting process - and visiting the Dallas Cowboys at the organization's "Dallas Day" - scouts were intrigued by his gifted arm talent, poised demeanor, and natural leadership qualities.

Indeed, the Cowboys had a high opinion of him before they traded for Joe Milton to join the QB room as a Dak Prescott backup.

And he was considered to maybe be a Day 2 range among the best quarterbacks available.

Come Draft weekend, draft disaster struck. Quinn waited until the final day - the final round - before he heard his named called.

The Miami Dolphins drafted Ewers No. 231 overall in the seventh round.

He was the 13th quarterback taken off the board.

Each team may have their own reasons for passing on him and causing his deep slide, but Ewers' agent Ron Slavin now has something to say about it.

Slavin told ESPN's Todd Archer that he had been in contact with "half the league" to try to learn what caused this fall in the NFL Draft.

"They thought he was a third- or fourth-round pick, but too big of a name to be a clipboard holder," Slavin said. "Which I think is chicken(bleep)." 

Ewers enters the NFL after being one of the brightest stars in this era of college football where athletes can profit off marketing efforts related to their name, image, and likeness (NIL).

Before that, he backed it up on the field as he lead the Longhorns to back-to-back College Football Playoff semifinals appearances and rose up the Texas record books.

Throughout this success Quinn turned into a top prominent figure in the NIL industry, memorably being selected to grace the cover of EA's first college football video game in over a decade.

He had turned into one of the faces of college football, an entity that holds about as much weight in the United States as any league, minus the NFL.

Surely teams new of this, right?

And is Ewers' fame so insurmountable that it would be deemed a distraction?

That feels hard to believe in a league filled with millionaires and high-profile figures always in the public eye.

Regardless, Ewers is turning his surprising reality into motivation as he joins the Dolphins.

"It's definitely a lot of motivation that comes with it, especially just being the last [quarterback] drafted," Ewers said.

"I still have the high expectations for myself, but just from the outside looking in, this is the first time in my life to not have that much expectation. There's definitely motivation and fuel. A lot of it."

Ironically, Ewers can also relate to being the quarterback who was threatened to be outshined by his backup. At Texas, he played in front of phenom Arch Manning, the nephew of Peyton and Eli.

Talk about attention.