The Tennessee Titans made former Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward the No. 1 overall pick in last month's NFL Draft. In the months prior, there was genuine uncertainty over who Tennessee would actually pick at the top. Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter, two defensive maestros, were solid candidates. Many even thought Shedeur Sanders might have a chance to leapfrog Ward.
In the end, Tennessee settled on Ward a few weeks in advance and did not budge. Sanders, on the other hand, fell — all the way to the fifth round, when the Cleveland Browns made him the 144th overall pick. It was a sudden and precipitous fall for the NCAA's all-time leader in completion percentage.
Naturally, the media apparatus around Sanders has done its job in the weeks since the draft. He has been far and away the most scrutinized player at rookie minicamp and OTAs in Cleveland, despite being the fourth-string quarterback on paper. Fifth-string, once Deshaun Watson gets healthy.
Meanwhile, Ward has been quietly plugging away in Nashville, largely out of the broader national conversation. Some of that has to do with market size — Tennessee isn't exactly a marquee organization — and some of it is just how Ward goes about things. Sanders has always invited media scrutiny. He's the son of Deion Sanders, so it comes with the territory. Ward likes to affect a more workmanlike persona. He wants to keep the main thing the main thing and focus on football.
Now, a month after the draft, Ward is finally starting to generate some positive buzz.
Titans QB Cam Ward has been 'as advertised' in first weeks of summer practice
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler went on SportsCenter on Friday afternoon to deliver a glowing review of Ward's first few weeks with the Titans. It appears that the 23-year-old has a little overeager to learn new information, which seems like a positive sign for his long-term future.
"No. 1 overall pick (Cam Ward) has been as advertised inside Tennessee's building," Fowler said (h/t Bleacher Report). "They knew he was immensely talented, but I was told that they really even had to kick him out of the offensive coaches room at times and that's not hyperbole. They literally had to kick him out because coaches had other things to do at the time. He is hungry for information. So lately it's been him and Will Levis kind of splitting reps, that will probably be the case in OTAs. I expect that to change once Ward starts to take a hold of that job."
Ward has the talent and the work ethic to deliver on the hype as a No. 1 overall pick. This was a weak draft class at QB, so there is tremendous pressure on Ward to live up to better prospects before him, like Caleb Williams or Joe Burrow. But he also needs to outperform the likes of Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter, who were almost universally ranked higher on draft boards in a vacuum.
The expectation is that Ward will quickly take Tennessee's starting job and run with it, relegating Will Levis to backup duties. Right now, he is the only rookie QB from this class with a surefire path to startng. Tyler Shough in New Orleans has a chance to join him, but in reality, Ward will finally have the spotlight to himself once the regular season starts and Shedeur is multiple injuries away from even touching the football field in a live game. At that point, it will be time for Ward to really prove his mettle.