Who is Quinn Ewers? Draft scouting report for new Dolphins starting QB after Tua Tagovailoa benching

The Miami Dolphins have made the franchise-altering decision to bench starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa after an ugly performance against the Steelers on Monday night. In six years as the starter in Miami when healthy, Tagovailoa went 44-32 and lost his only playoff appearance. The league leader in interceptions at the time of his benching, Tagovailoa now faces an uncertain future in the league and the hope he can resurrect his career with a new team.

So who will replace Tagovailoa at quarterback beginning this Sunday against the Bengals? Not his direct backup Zach Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick of the Jets in 2021. Instead it'll be rookie Quinn Ewers, who was selected in the seventh round out of Texas. This will be his second NFL game after he went 5 of 8 for 53 yards in mop-up duty during Miami's 31-6 loss to the Browns back in October.

The question running through the minds of Dolphins fans heading into Sunday is whether Ewers has a chance to establish himself as the team's starting QB in 2026 and beyond. We went deep on Ewers before the draft as part of our series of scouting reports. Here's some of what Fantasy analyst and tape fiend Dave Richard had to say:

Quinn Ewers NFL Draft profile

Quinn Ewers

MIA • QB • #14

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• Age as of Week 1: 22
• Height: 6-foot-2 ⅛
• Weight: 214
  
• Hand size: 9 ⅜
• Comparable body-type to: Andy Dalton

CBS prospect ranking

Position: No. 4 QB | Overall: 107

Consensus big board ranking (via NFL Mock Draft Database): No. 71 overall (No. 5 QB)

To check out all of CBSSports.com's most recent mock drafts, click here.

NFL comparison: Colt McCoy

Ewers might remind you of another former Longhorns quarterback in Colt McCoy. Both had good enough size to go with a good enough arm to manage an offense, but both didn't have the cannon-arm strength or long-ball touch to threaten defenses deep. You might believe Ewers had maybe a touch more arm strength than McCoy, but McCoy was a little more mobile. In the end, Ewers should be able to put together a long career as a reasonably solid backup, just as McCoy did.

Quinn Ewers scouting report

Accolades

• Career: Third in school history in both passing yards (9,128) and passing touchdowns (68)
• Two-time second-team all-conference (Big 12 in 2023 and SEC in 2024)
  
• 2023: Big 12 Championship MVP

Strengths

• Solid height and size for the position.
• Typically had good arm mechanics with a quick, snappy release. Would change his release point based on the type of throw he was making, including a sidearm-style release to get a little more juice on the ball.
• Generally had good pocket awareness with a number of examples of him stepping up away from pass-rush pressure while keeping his eyes downfield.
• Might be among the tops in the class at processing defensive coverages when needed, even if he didn't always take advantage. When he didn't force it to his first read, Ewers was capable of finding his second and sometimes his third read in the offense.
• Ewers knew all the keys to look for when targeting a defender and took advantage frequently. Would smartly attack blitzes by throwing to targets in the area where the blitz came from and had the knack for ganging up on defensive backs who turned their backs to him.
• Has the potential to develop how to manipulate coverages with his eyes. Would sometimes show how to move defenders by looking one way and then throwing another, and he even dabbled in some no-look passes.
• Capably threw with good timing and anticipation.
• Especially nice touch on short and mid-range passes, and many came when he was off-platform.
• Consistently displayed good placement and accuracy on short-range throws. Was among the best in this draft class on passes of nine or fewer air yards. Had his moments on longer throws as well.
• Clearly battle tested: Started against nine teams ranked in the top 25 in 2024, more than anyone else in college football. Led Texas to six wins in those games. Also led Texas to the College Football Playoff in 2024 and 2025. 

Concerns

• Played 35 snaps from under center in 2024 and 72 over three years at Texas. Most prospects in the class don't have much experience playing from under center, nor is it a detriment.
• Ewers' pocket awareness and sensitivity to the pass rush were inconsistent. Sometimes he would be ignorant of the pass rush and complete a pass within a nanosecond of getting shellacked, and sometimes he'd be so ignorant of the pass rush that he'd get hammered from the blind side. When Ewers was aware of the pass rush, he'd sometimes adjust accordingly and make a play, and sometimes he'd panic. It's something he has to improve on at the next level.
• Ewers played on the balls of his feet a good amount of the time, setting himself up for some inaccuracy when he didn't plant his front foot. Additionally, Ewers' footwork in the pocket sometimes broke down and may have been responsible for some off-target throws. This fix is coachable.
• Threw a litany of short screens, quick outs, flares and check-down passes. Of his total attempts last season, 28.3% of them were on those small, easy throws inside of two air yards from the line of scrimmage. Those plays accounted for 38.6% of his completions, 23.2% of his yards and 16.1% of his touchdowns. At times, Ewers would check-down prematurely and not take the extra second to scan for an open target -- even when he had a clean pocket.
• Be it because of the scheme or his own unwillingness to test his arm, Ewers seldom made tight-window throws in 2024.
• Every coach will have issues with Ewers' arm strength, velocity and accuracy on longer throws. Last season he was last among the top QB prospects in his class with a 47% completion rate on throws of 10-plus air yards with a 25.8% off-target rate. His career completion rate on throws of 30-plus yards was 20% (17 of 85) with a 60% off-target rate. And Ewers had just one pass in three years travel least 50 air yards. Frequently did his long throws hang in the air and not have desirable velocity. Without zip, strength or drive consistently on intermediate or downfield throws, defenses will be able to key in on Ewers' shorter attempts. 
• At 62.7%, his overall completion rate was the worst of the top-eight prospects in the draft class.
• Had a dozen passes batted at the line of scrimmage, most of any of the top quarterbacks in the class. His sometimes-sidearm delivery definitely contributed to some of them.
• No better than average speed made Ewers much less of a flight risk with his feet than other quarterbacks. Did know when and how to slide to end a run, though.
• Has an injury history: Played through a torn oblique and injured his ankle in 2024; suffered a grade 2 AC joint sprain in his left shoulder in 2023; suffered a right SC joint sprain in his right (throwing) shoulder in 2022; had a core muscle injury that cost him six games in high school in 2020.

Bottom line

Ewers has traits that could help him navigate an NFL offense in due time, but the lack of arm strength and accuracy beyond 10 yards will not only limit what an offense can do around him but better set up a defense to force some turnovers. Tack on a lack of consistency when it comes to dealing with the pass rush, and the one-time top prospect of the nation might only elevate to being a quality backup who could pick up wins if a starter misses a few games.