The controversy surrounding the recent NFL Draft continues. About 95% of the event’s media coverage has focused on Shedeur Sanders, who was selected in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns, despite being viewed as a player with the talent and skill set to be picked on Day 1.
However, numerous quarterbacks were selected before Sanders’ name was finally called-on Day 3, with the 144th overall pick. To make things even more surprising, the team that picked him-the Browns-had already selected a quarterback two rounds earlier, Dillon Gabriel from the Oregon Ducks.
All of this has created a lot of buzz in the NFL, and there’s speculation that one reason teams passed on Shedeur Sanders was the influence of his father, Deion Sanders. Rumor had it that if a team drafted Shedeur and things didn’t go well, the noise around Deion potentially becoming that team’s head coach would be loud-possibly putting jobs at risk within the organization.
Well, a similar situation may have happened with now-Miami Dolphins quarterback Quinn Ewers, who wasn’t drafted until the very last round.
Ewers had the talent to be picked much earlier
The former Texas Longhorns quarterback was selected with the 231st overall pick by the Miami Dolphins. However, according to his agent, Ron Slavin, multiple NFL teams had graded Ewers as a third- or fourth-round talent, but passed on him due to the media attention he would attract as a backup.
“They told me he was a third- or fourth-round pick, but his name was too big for him to just be a clipboard holder. I think that’s a cowardly excuse,” Slavin said.
Ewers ended up being picked in the seventh round-a surprise he didn’t see coming:
“I didn’t know what was going on. At one point, I thought, ‘I’m not even going to get drafted. I’m going to go undrafted,'” Ewers said.
Now, Ewers-who tolerated being benched at Texas behind the highly publicized Arch Manning-will need to stay strong and, for now, compete for the backup spot on the Dolphins with Zach Wilson. In addition, starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has had multiple injury issues in the NFL, meaning Ewers could realistically have a real opportunity sooner rather than later.
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