Quinn Ewers entered the 2025 draft cycle as one of the most polarizing quarterbacks on the board—somewhere between a hidden gem and a cautionary tale. After three seasons starting for Texas Longhorns, scouts can’t stop talking about his arm. Ewers throws a crisp intermediate ball with velocity and touch, and when he’s in rhythm, he makes difficult throws look easy. But scratch beneath the surface, and the story starts to wobble. His processing speed, ability to read rotating defenses, and overall feel for pressure—those traits don’t always show up on tape. Factor in a history of durability concerns, and you’ve got a scouting report that inspires as much hand-wringing as head-nodding. He’s a QB you want to believe in—but in a year with no surefire QB1, that emotional investment, particularly in this $4.4 B franchise, might not be enough.

Which brings us to a team sitting quietly with the 40th overall pick in Round 2. The New Orleans Saints have long operated with one foot in the future and the other in a murky present, and they’re staring at an opportunity to draft their next signal-caller without setting the world on fire. Veteran quarterback Derek Carr, who signed that big 4-year, $150 million deal with the Saints in 2023, is expected back in 2025, but league chatter paints him as more of a bridge than a destination. As ESPN’s Matt Miller put it, “Derek Carr will be back in 2025, but there’s a sense around the league that he’s a placeholder while the Saints draft their QB of the future.” In other words, it’s a front office looking for the next face of the franchise—without the pressure of handing over the keys in Week 1.

And that’s precisely the kind of low-risk, high-upside runway that a thrower like Quinn Ewers needs. But how high does Ewers even fly on draft boards right now? Not even the insiders seem to agree. “Quinn Ewers—two of the three multi-round mocks, Matt Miller’s got him going 40th overall to the Saints, Josh Edwards has him 90th overall in the third round to Carolina,” said Jeff Howe of On Texas Football. “I don’t know where Quinn’s stock is right now. The pro day, I don’t think did anything to you know, cause it to go elevate or deflate it.” If anything, Ewers’ Pro Day performance left scouts shrugging.

His workout wasn’t a flameout, but it wasn’t the headline grabber he needed to cement himself ahead of the rising tide of mid-tier prospects. “If you were at a blackjack table,” CJ Vogel added, “the dealer pat the table twice, saying, ‘Hey, that’s a push.’” That middle-of-the-road showing may have cost Ewers momentum in what many are calling one of the most talent-thin quarterback classes in recent memory.

There’s even buzz that he could slide below some names that, on paper, shouldn’t be in the same breath. Jaxson Dart, for instance, is now getting top-10 draft pick whispers thanks to an impressive final campaign and growing belief in his ceiling. “Dan Orlovsky got on ESPN the other day and said, ‘Hey, I think Jaxson Dart’s a top 10 pick by the end of this,’” noted Vogel. “If that’s the case, I think you’ll see Quinn go much earlier than what you might expect.” But that’s the rub—this isn’t about where Ewers should go; it’s about where the winds of draft perception push him. Suddenly, he’s in the same cluster as Tyler Shough, whose college career was practically a medical file, and Will Howard, who, despite winning a national championship, still hasn’t quite convinced evaluators he was more than a passenger on a talent-loaded Ohio State roster.

The comparison game hasn’t been kind. “A lot of people are starting to think Tyler Shough is ahead of Quinn in the pecking order,” said Howe. “And there’s some buzz that Will Howard might go before Quinn… that’s kind of hard for me to believe, but that’s just where things are at with Quinn right now.” That uncertainty is a warning sign—teams aren’t just looking at what Ewers is now; they’re questioning what he could become.

As Vogel observed, “The deep ball wasn’t there, but everything else in between is going to be where it needs to be. Now is that technique, is that just strength, is that just not having it mentally? I don’t know. I don’t have the answers for you, I wish I did, but we’d be talking about a different quarterback over the last two or three years.”

Ultimately, Ewers’ future might mirror the Jordan Love route—drafted by a team with no urgency, groomed quietly behind a veteran, and called upon once the torch is ready to be passed. “For Quinn, someone’s going to view him as a long-term backup before leading him into that kind of starting role if they have a guy already,” Vogel concluded. “That’s going to be something that you see, like a Jordan Love—you just pick up, you stash, and you say, ‘Alright, let’s build for the next couple of years.’”

And in New Orleans, with Carr steady at QB and Kellen Moore starting a new offense, that stash-and-develop plan really clicks. As Howe put it, “A team like the Saints that to me, would be a good fit. Kellen Moore is a first-year head coach. Maybe he can grow with him, grow with that offense.” Seems like a possibility…

Quinn Ewers to the Big Easy? Saints get up close with Texas QB

Now this could get spicy in the Big Easy. According to longtime Saints insider John Hendrix, New Orleans is bringing in Horns QB Quinn Ewers for one of their 30 official pre-draft visits. Yup—black and gold brass are doing their homework.

This isn’t some last-minute flirtation, either. The Saints have been circling Ewers for a while now. He first met with the team during a formal interview at the NFL Scouting Combine. Since then, things have only picked up steam. Ewers later linked up with a group of Texas teammates for dinner with head coach Kellen Moore and key members of the Saints staff before his Pro Day. And Moore didn’t just show up for the steak—he was locked in on Ewers’ throwing session, keeping a close eye on the mechanics, arm talent, and poise.

Now, with a visit to team HQ in Metairie on deck, the Saints will get even more face time with the Texas gunslinger. Could this be a potential match? The Saints clearly see something.