NFL Draft film room: Quinn Ewers from gunslinger to anticipation and timing thrower

What could the Texas quarterback bring to Las Vegas?

This isn’t the first time Quinn Ewers has been considered a potential NFL Draft target for the Las Vegas Raiders. During the summer of 2023, Silver and Black Pride broke down the former Texas Longhorn’s game and he was known for his gunslinger mentality.

However, Ewers has changed since then and was more of an anticipation and timing thrower in 2024. According to Pro Football Focus, his deep attempts were over five percent lower this past season than in the 2022 campaign.

Additionally, PFF charted the Texas product with a 38.2 completion percentage (21/55) and 637 yards on throws 20 or more yards past the line of scrimmage, and a 52.1 completion percentage (50/96) and 926 yards on attempts in the 10-19 yard range this past fall.

Given that, let’s dive into what Ewers could potentially bring to Las Vegas.

Ewers has improved greatly at throwing with anticipation over the years. This is best seen when throwing curl routes on or outside the numbers as it allows him to beat tight coverage, which the last two throws above highlight well.

Against Georgia, he gets man coverage against the single receiver at the top of the screen. The cornerback is in a decent position, breaking on the curl route right about the same time as the wide receiver. However, Ewers starts his throwing motion slightly before the receiver gets into the break to beat the coverage and lead to some yards after the catch.

In the Peach Bowl versus ASU, Texas uses motion to get a coverage indicator and give the wideout a head start. Ewers is facing man coverage again and the cornerback is in a decent position, only giving up about a yard of separation. But with the ball in the air before the wideout finishes the route, there’s nothing the corner can do to prevent the first down.

This is tied to the section above as throwing with timing often requires anticipation, especially when targeting the middle of the field, another area where Ewers showed growth in 2024. That helped him to beat zone coverage and the second play above is a great example.

First, the former Longhorn does a good job of using his eyes to manipulate the weakside linebacker. Ewers initially looks to the single receiver at the bottom of the screen which keeps the linebacker away from the middle of the field to help widen the window for the slot receiver running the hook route.

Then, Ewers whips his head around and hits the hook route right out of the receiver’s break to move the chains on first and 20. With the Sun Devils playing Cover 2 where the middle hook defender stays deep, this is a great read and a well-timed ball to beat the defense.

Ewers’ touch is still improving and needs to be more consistent, but he did have a handful of nice throws between the second and third levels of the defense. He flashed the ability to get the ball over the underneath defender’s head and drop it into his receiver to move the chains.

The last throw above against ASU is the best example. The out route isn’t open with the defender staying in the receiver’s inside hip. However, the quarterback gives the receiver a chance to win by throwing a jump ball with touch where the defender can’t get to it but the wideout can go up and make a play.

While Ewers lacks athleticism and is best when operating from the pocket, he did show the ability to throw on the run in 2024. He can be used on the occasional bootleg to keep defenses honest and push the ball down the field when scrambling, which the two throws above showcase.

The pass against Georgia is impressive as the ball travels about 40 yards in the air on a throw where he doesn’t have his feet set. Also, this is another good example of some touch by Ewers to beat the defender and drop the ball where his guy can come down with it.

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Overall, Ewers is well outside the QB3 battle in this year’s draft class. He still makes some questionable decisions by trying to force throws that aren’t open, which is frustrating given how much starting experience he has. Also, he often gets too cute with deep passes, aiming and lofting the ball instead of letting it rip.

But if the Raiders are looking for a Day 3 quarterback to develop for a year or two, the Texas product should be on their radar.