The Las Vegas Raiders have their starting quarterback for 2024 in Gardner Minshew but he’s not a long-term solution at the position. Barring a breakout season from Minshew, the team will almost certainly explore their options next offseason.
This could lead them to take a close look at the 2025 draft class. ESPN’s Field Yates put together a 2025 mock draft and projected the Raiders to select Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers with the No. 8 pick.
“It’s no surprise that the Raiders are linked to a quarterback in Round 1 since the team has gone through a full offseason battle between Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew, who are each better suited to be a No. 2 option,” Yates wrote in an August 21 mock draft. “(Minshew was named the starter over the weekend.) Las Vegas ranked 26th in QBR last season (40.1) and needs a long-term answer.
“Ewers is a fun study with his smooth delivery and capacity to change arm angles to make creative throws. He has to be more consistent throwing downfield, but he can really carve up a defense with his intermediate accuracy. Ewers’ functional mobility is also very good and allows him to work around the pocket effectively.”
There’s still an entire college football season that needs to take place so it’s possible that Ewers’ stock could rise or fall in that time.
Is Quinn Ewers Worth a Top-10 Pick?
Ewers is a somewhat polarizing prospect. He was highly touted coming out of high school but his struggles to throw the ball deep may limit his upside at the NFL level.
ESPN’s Jordan Reid did scouting reports on the top quarterbacks in the 2025 class and scouts are not very high on Ewers right now.
“I’m hearing primarily late-Day 2 or even early-Day 3 grades from scouts right now, but it’s early,” Reid wrote in a July 9 column. “And considering he’s my QB3, he has to be in consideration for the top pick if he can piece together a really good prove-it season. The decision to return to school was the right one for Ewers, and he now gains another year of needed experience and tries to build on his positive moments shown last season.”
Texas has one of the top teams in college football so Ewers could certainly improve his stock but a top-10 draft pick may be too high for the quarterback.
Other College QBs to Keep an Eye On
In Yates’ mock draft, Ewers is the third quarterback taken behind Georgia’s Carson Beck (No. 1) and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders (No. 4). Those were the only three quarterback selected in the first round.
The 2025 class appears to be less deep than the 2025 class but the Raiders do need to come away with a quarterback of the future unless they sign one in free agency. Houston’s Donovan Smith is another quarterback who could make his way into the first round if he has a big year.
Beck and Sanders appear to be the prizes of the class so the Raiders should do extensive work on them but Ewers or Smith may be more realistic options, especially if the team plays well this season and doesn’t have a top-10 pick.
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Raiders Predicted to Add Franchise QB Who Can ‘Carve Up a Defense’ in 2025