Carolina Panthers predicted to pick Texas Longhorns QB in 2025 NFL draft

The Panthers take a quarterback in this seven-round mock.

Jan 1, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) warms up before the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

With the first pick the Carolina Panthers have in the 2025 NFL Draft, they are not going to select a quarterback. Bryce Young has done more than enough to justify keeping him for at the very least the 2025 season. That pick can now be used elsewhere.

However, there are six other rounds that will see plenty of collegiate players selected by the Panthers. It's certainly not outside the realm of possibility that one of them plays quarterback. In the latest mock from College Football Network, that's exactly what happens in the 2025 draft for Carolina.

Panthers nab Quinn Ewers late in 2025 NFL Mock Draft

Bryce Young is going to be starting under center for the Carolina Panthers in 2025. It remains to be seen who his backup is going to be. Andy Dalton is a pending free agent after two years in Carolina. Jack Plummer has hardly even been active this season.

That's where the draft comes into play according to Cam Meltor of College Football Network. With the first pick in the fifth round, the Panthers opt to find their backup quarterback from Texas in Quinn Ewers.

Ewers has the Texas Longhorns genuinely competing for a national title, but he's obviously not an inspiring NFL prospect since he's pegged as a fifth-round pick. Additionally, while the logic in finding a backup that could possibly pan out and be the future is sound that late in the draft, this is probably not going to happen.

Ewers is highly unlikely to be an NFL quarterback, but there are teams that could utilize him. The Miami Dolphins are a good spot, for example. He could develop behind a veteran like Tua Tagovailoa. By the time Tagovailoa is up for an extension, they have the option for pivoting to the cheaper Ewers like Green Bay has done with Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love.

That's not really the situation the Panthers are in, though. Young will be in his third year, so the timeline doesn't match up with taking another rookie to develop behind someone still on their rookie contract as well. The Panthers will need a backup QB, but another position should be picked even in the fifth round.

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