ESPN NFL Draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. is always watching and evaluating. We see and hear him mostly around the draft in April, but his real work happens in the college football season.
Kiper was on ‘Get Up’ on ESPN Wednesday morning to relay where he thinks the top end of the 2025 NFL Draft QB class stands. Kiper has Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Georgia’s Carson Beck as the top two quarterbacks so far.
What about Texas QB Quinn Ewers? Kiper thinks Ewers has shown great improvement and this Saturday’s matchup against the Michigan Wolverines could lock him into the top three. A big part of Kiper’s evaluation is how a player does in ‘big games against big opponents.’
“It’s a great defense, the Wolverines. High Noon kickoff at the Big House, what’s better than that? You’ve got three players. You’ve got Will Johnson, a lockdown corner, could be a top five pick for Michigan. Mason Graham Kenneth Grant, that interior pressure that bothers quarterbacks like no other. Those two kids, Grant and Mason Graham will be top ten picks potentially. And then you’ve got Quinn Ewers. Consistency. A couple years ago, he’s at 58% (completion percentage). Last year, it goes up to 69%. But early in the year, against Rice he missed a couple throws. He’s great against Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Leads them to an upset with 3 touchdowns and 350 yards. The next week against Wyoming he’s at 52%. After that he’s at 65% or higher in every regular season game. … this is Quinn Ewers year to maybe reestablish himself as QB1 by the time we get to April.” — Mel Kiper Jr.
https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/41120454
Kiper’s ESPN colleague Field Yates published a Mock Draft a couple weeks ago that had Ewers going 8th in the NFL Draft, after Beck and Sanders. Ryan Wilson, who has been crafting Mock Drafts for CBS Sports, has Ewers getting picked at No. 17.