Quinn Ewers' agent: NFL teams thought Texas QB was 'too big of a name to be a clipboard holder'

As quarterbacks continued to go off the board in the 2025 NFL Draft, a big one was still waiting. Former Texas QB Quinn Ewers had to wait until the seventh round to hear his name called by the Miami Dolphins – but his agent said teams graded him higher than that.

Ron Slavin of Sportstars spoke with ESPN’s Todd Archer about Ewers’ situation and said some teams graded him as high as a third-round selection. In three years as Texas’ starter, Ewers helped lead the Longhorns to back-to-back College Football Playoff semifinal appearances and set a career-high with 31 touchdown passes this past season.

However, Slavain said he heard some teams worried if Ewers had too high a profile to be a backup quarterback. He disagreed with that thought process.

“They thought he was a third- or fourth-round pick, but too big of a name to be a clipboard holder,” Slavin told ESPN. “Which I think is chickens—.”

Ewers’ college career lined up with the NIL era in college football, and he became one of the faces of the sport. He arrived on the scene as a freshman at Ohio State in 2021 after re-classifying from the 2022 cycle and receiving an NIL deal with the Buckeyes. He then entered the transfer portal and returned home to Texas, where he spent three years as the starter.

On the field, Ewers threw for 9,128 yards and 68 touchdowns during his three seasons running Steve Sarkisian’s scheme. That includes back-to-back 3,400 yard seasons, including a career-high 3,479 yards in 2023 before injuries cut his year short.

Off the field, Quinn Ewers thrived in the NIL space with an impressive portfolio of NIL deals. He notably appeared in the Dr Pepper “Fansville” commercials throughout his senior year and left Texas with an On3 NIL Valuation of $4.5 million. At the time, that figure ranked No. 4 in the On3 NIL 100, the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.

Ewers had the opportunity to return to college for another season, whether it be at Texas or at another school via the transfer portal, but he opted to declare for the NFL Draft. With the Dolphins, he will make $4.33 million total over the course of his four-year rookie contract – leading to questions about whether he made the right decision heading to the NFL rather than spending one more year in college.