He could have just taken his award with a smile on his face. Instead, former Miami Hurricanes starting quarterback Cam Ward put somewhat of a target on his back with his comments during the Davey O'Brien Award ceremony about going No. 1 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Ward said that anyone who passes on him in the NFL Draft will regret it. Josh Rosen said something similar after he was drafted...
While I may be making a mountain out of a mole hill here, I have my reasons for being higher on Shedeur Sanders than Ward as an NFL quarterback prospect. It may have something to do with Sanders being the son of my favorite NFL player of all time, but I would also argue that he is a bit more polished and would have never said something like that on the record. Ward still has a long way to go.
All things equal, the Tennessee Titans should make him the No. 1 overall pick this spring. The Titans are in dire need of a quarterback and Ward checks the boxes for what they could like. At this time, I still like Ward to go to Tennessee with the top selection. As far as Sanders is concerned, I cannot get the vision of him wearing the Silver and Black for the Las Vegas Raiders out of my head. Is it his fate?
Here are five teams picking inside of the top 10 in the 2025 NFL Draft who might call Ward's big bet.
5. Tennessee Titans
Even though new Tennessee Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi said his team could go in the best player available route at No. 1, I sincerely doubt that. He would not leave the well-run front office of the Kansas City Chiefs to not take a quarterback with the No. 1 pick in Nashville. Tennessee is scraping along at rock bottom. Even if Ward bombs, the Titans owe it to themselves to make the pick.
The reason why I am including the Titans on this list is that if they pick Shedeur Sanders or somebody else like Penn State linebacker Abdul Carter over him, other teams might do the same. We have seen plenty of talkative first-round quarterbacks bust so incredibly hard. I am not saying Ward is on the fast track to doing so, but I am becoming less and less sold on him with each and every passing day.
Although I would still pick him No. 1 overall if I were running the Titans, is he really a franchise player?
4. New York Giants
The New York Giants are one of the few teams picking inside the top 10 that I think would move heaven and earth to get themselves a quarterback. This might only be a two quarterback draft. Ward and Sanders could go one and two. The Giants are picking third... While I thought Ward was the better overall fit for the Giants over the son of a Dallas Cowboys legend in Sanders, I could be mistaken.
For ownership reasons, the Giants have devolved into being one of the most decadent franchises in the NFL. This franchise has won two Super Bowls this century, but how many years since 2000 have the Giants actually been good? Maybe five or six? You get what I am saying, right? The Giants are one of the teams who may cross Ward off for making a cocky comment because they are so old school.
I do not understand for the life of me why Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen got another year on the job.
3. Las Vegas Raiders
This may be a matter of preference. All things equal, the Las Vegas Raiders feel far more inclined to draft Shedeur Sanders over Cam Ward. This is because the Raiders are not only the NFL's rebel brand, but Deion Sanders openly opined for Las Vegas to take him back when Antonio Pierce was leading the team. Now that it is Pete Carroll, I would say that is even more of a far gone conclusion.
The Raiders are picking at No. 6. Should the Titans take Sanders instead of Ward, they may just trade back and draft Jaxson Dart out of Ole Miss later in the first round. I do not think the Raiders are going to enter the 2025 NFL Draft without a plan in place at quarterback. If they sign Kirk Cousins, Sam Darnold or Aaron Rodgers in free agency, that would give them even more ammo to pass on Ward.
A lot can change between now and then, but I do not think the Raiders are all that interested in him.
2. Cleveland Browns
The timing is not right for the Cleveland Browns to draft a quarterback at No. 2. If they stay put with that selection, I feel they are far more inclined to take a defensive star like Abdul Carter, Sanders' Colorado teammate Travis Hunter or even Michigan defensive lineman Mason Graham. The Browns need to get out of the Deshaun Watson business yesterday. It feels like a lost year for the franchise.
What I would do if were calling the shots for the Browns is to trade back to No. 6 in a deal with the Raiders. Las Vegas would draft Sanders second overall, while Cleveland could be in position to land some defensive star out of Michigan. While they could take Ward if the Titans go with Sanders or the so-called best player available in their eyes in the draft, they are better far served waiting until 2026.
Ward could be a catalyst for change in Cleveland, but the Browns have way too many problems now.
1. New Orleans Saints
It is not happening. Ward is not going to fall to the New Orleans Saints at No. 9, nor are they going to trade up for him. The Saints are essentially stuck with Derek Carr for another season. Upon Kellen Moore hiring his long-time NFL colleague Doug Nussmeier to be their new offensive coordinator, it telegraphs what the Saints' long-term quarterback plans will be. Garrett Nussmeier, come on down!
In the event that Ward's NFL Draft stock craters, enough to the point where the Saints do not even want him, Ward will be the next Josh Rosen. While I have a hard time seeing a quarterback bust as catastrophically as Rosen did coming out of UCLA, Ward needs to show me something. He threw for a lot of yards, but is he really a leader? The Saints are not going to take him if he were to fall to No. 9.
The last quarterback the Saints drafted in the first round was Archie Manning way back in 1971...