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2025 NFL Draft: Cam Ward is much more than the top QB of a weak class. Here's why

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https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/article/2025-nfl-draft-cam-ward-is-much-more-than-the-top-qb-of-a-weak-class-heres-why-234835325.html

Cam Ward’s journey to being the consensus top quarterback in this year’s draft class is a well-traveled one. From accepting his lone scholarship offer out of high school to Incarnate Word in San Antonio, playing in a wide-open offense that showcased his previously underutilized throwing ability, to taking his talents to Pullman at Washington State and then finally South Beach (or Miami Gardens, close enough) at Miami.

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Last season was a whirlwind culminating in a Heisman-worthy campaign on an explosive Hurricanes offense. Even with his college career coming to a close, Ward’s nomadic life as a quarterback continues as he travels to the top of the 2025 NFL Draft and beyond.

Creative is the term that I think of when watching Cam Ward. He has a sidearm throwing motion and his style of play might seem loose and wild at first, but Ward actually has a sharp understanding of what he’s trying to accomplish on a given play. His path on a play, much like his path in football, can seem unorthodox; a sidearm pass here, a flat-footed chuck there, an off-platform heave over there, all while seemingly playing with a heart rate that never goes above 60 BPM.

But Ward isn’t just winging it out there like a student that didn’t study for a test. He constantly keeps the end result in mind after he catches the snap and goes about working through plays. He is just willing and able to throw from a variety of platforms and use every arm angle available to get rid of the football that it just might seem a little untraditional.

Ward plays with a real sense of timing in his head, even as he fires another trick shot past a defender. On quicker throws like the RPOs in the video above, he is trying to get the ball into his teammate’s hands as quickly as possible and out in front so they can create themselves after the catch. And sometimes doing it even if there is a defender rushing right at him. Ward knows he needs to get rid of the football at certain times to maximize a play’s effectiveness, and is constantly trying to operate within that timespan, whether his feet are in a perfect position or there’s a defender in his lap. Which can mean he ends up looking like he’s straddling a horse and his arm below parallel when throwing the football.

Or at other times like a classic quarterback firing throws over the middle while in rhythm from the pocket.

When Ward has a clean answer in his mind after the snap of the ball, he can consistently create paths to get to that answer. Ward’s extended throws and scrambles will catch the most attention on his highlights, but he operates with more polish from the pocket and at an overall higher level than he may get credit for. Ward wants to work from the pocket and wants to operate as a thrower first. He will just alter his throwing mechanics to be able to make it work. He adlibs when he needs to but it is more often than not able to find a sound answer.

Ward is also willing to throw the football to all parts of the field, too. He is comfortable pushing the ball on throws over the middle like on seam-benders and digs, and can get to both on first reads and while progressing, too. Ward has the arm strength to push the ball to the outside as well, where his sense of timing, anticipation and ball placement are really highlighted on outbreaking throws.

While Ward can drive the ball, there is some need for him to get rid of these footballs with as much anticipation as possible; Ward’s arm strength is firmly above-average and I would say touches on good. But not to that great or elite threshold. I want to reiterate this: His arm is more than enough to survive in the NFL, but it doesn’t touch on some of the big arms we see among the top players at the position (Joe Burrow notwithstanding). Ward maximizes his arm with his creativity, quick throwing motion, and early release of the football, which are excellent qualities that help him mitigate sacks and help create even more separation for his receivers. But could create a little less room for error for him at the next level against bigger, faster and better defenders.

There are some parallels to other quarterbacks that win by throwing the football from a variety of arm slots. His throwing style has some similarities to Lamar Jackson and Matthew Stafford, though both are taller than Ward (who measured below 6-foot-2 at the combine) and both have the arm strength that is a tier (I might even say two tiers) higher than Ward’s. Still, that ability to create throwing lanes that others might not think of opens up different answers to the many problems a quarterback faces on a given play. Ward’s height and throwing motion also don’t cause any issues in the ways that might traditionally hinder such players. Ward is able to operate in quick game and over the middle, and only had four throws batted down in all of 2024.

Deep throws to the outside also seem to be an area where Ward lacks consistency. Throws will often tail off on him and create uncatchable or more difficult opportunities for his receivers. Some of this might be because of Ward’s sidearm style and smaller hands (9 inches at the combine) leading to a slight lack of control and fade. Throws where Ward could drive it, like posts, didn’t seem to give him much issues. Just the throws needing more of a combination of touch and strength. Ward finished 2024 with 42 pass attempts outside the numbers and that traveled 20 or more air yards, but only completed 13 of such passes. That 31% completion rate ranked 56th out of 81 qualifying FBS quarterbacks (Ward’s success rate on such throws ranked 62nd). Ward can easily push the ball over 60 yards on deep throws, and some of this is variance on these more difficult passes as well as receiver talent, but Ward’s throws on slot fades and go balls did have a tendency to get away from his receivers a bit too often.

This might seem like picking nits, but at the top of the draft every aspect must be looked at with prospects. And a lack of true high-end arm strength might, in theory, limit effectiveness in cold weather cities that feature games with high wind. (But also remember that Ward was able to be quite successful in Pullman, Washington!)

Ward’s unique upbringing in playing the position might create unrefined areas, but I think it’s an overall positive because of the way Ward goes about trying to accomplish a throw. It doesn’t always look ideal, but Ward just gets it done. We use the term “athlete at the position” as a (potentially coded, unfortunately) way to say a player is fast but unrefined. Ward isn’t that fast, but he plays quarterback like an athlete, a player that’s flexible with their body and their thinking to contort their body and accomplish their task no matter how. Like a shortstop turning a double play or a point guard throwing a behind-the-back pass cause there are no other options available. Ward isn’t going to play in a drilled, picturesque way, he is going to try and find a way to throw that five-yard hitch route because that’s what the best answer is. Even if that means he has to throw it without moving his feet and underhand.

Ward’s creativity shows up when working outside the pocket as well. Again, he is not overly fast, but he’s able to win as a runner because of his balance and play strength, and he is a quality thrower while on the run. His flexibility shows up with his ability to consistently throw accurately while running to both the right and left, too. Ward is always hunting for plays downfield and trying to create explosives.

As a scrambler and designed runner (although he was only used on six designed runs this past season, mostly in short yardage situations), he is effective and greatly improved in getting down and avoiding big hits in the open field in 2024. His build and combination of throwing and extended play creativity is what made me think of the late Titans quarterback Steve McNair as a (super) high-end comparison for Ward.

Ward’s aggression and ability to keep plays alive does lead to his worst moments, though. Sometimes Ward will try to throw a teammate open (remember that anticipation he tries to play with) and the ball ends up going into a comically muddy look. Or he attempts to extend the play and gets stripped; Ward had over 30 career fumbles in college, a combination of his loose ball handling that needs to improve and 9-inch hands. It’s a double-edged sword to try and play two steps ahead but without the overwhelming arm strength or speed to help make things easier.

This is the balance Ward will have to strike in the NFL: adapting to the jump in level but while continuing to play to his strengths. Ward’s ability to create and anticipate from the pocket is a fun mix and it’s what makes him such an interesting prospect. And his throws with anticipation lead to plays like the one below, where he throws the ball so early and easy it hits his receiver in a soft spot before the defense can even react.

When Ward is clean, he can get the ball out exactly as intended. He also shows the ability to maneuver in the pocket and keep his eyes downfield to progress. But like most young quarterbacks, he can still work on quickening and shortcutting his progressions, especially if he wants to maximize his arm.

It is reasonable to think that Ward will improve in this area, especially given his relative lack of experience playing the position. There are times when Ward gets through a progression a hair late, feels like a route is covered (even when it might not be) and will end up having to unnecessarily enter creation mode.

Ward’s lack of overwhelming traits and a few too many backbreaking heat-check moments keep him from stacking up among my top quarterback prospects that I’ve scouted. But I do think he’s a real get for a quarterback-needy team. Personally, I liked him as a prospect going into the final process but really started to become more enthusiastic about him as I watched more games from the end of the season.

To me, he is definitely the top quarterback of this draft class. And he is much more than the backhanded compliment of being the best of a flawed group of prospects. He has the upside of being a real franchise signal-caller, a strong quarterback prospect that’s more than worthy of being selected in the top half of the opening round of any type of draft class. (I would rate Ward as QB4 or QB5 in last year’s class after Drake Maye, Caleb Williams, and Jayden Daniels, with a similar grade to the one I had on J.J. McCarthy.)

I think Ward has the play style of a type of quarterback that a team wins a game because of. With a higher floor than he’s getting credit for because of his anticipation, understanding of timing, creation, ball placement, and ability to win on underneath throws and in the intermediate areas. Again, he still has plenty to continue to clean up like every young athlete ever. And he will likely get punished early in his career as he adapts his style to NFL speed and feels the limitations of his arm strength and speed. And the Titans should be doing their due diligence and listening to every offer available, of course. But I think the Titans should (and likely will) stand pat and take Ward at the top of the draft.

This isn’t just because I think Ward plays like a diet Coke version of Steve McNair and that makes it easy for me to envision Ward in that uniform. But because the Titans (or whoever makes the No. 1 pick) should be absolutely thrilled in getting Ward because he has that type of needle-moving talent. He doesn’t have the elite traits like we might see from other top-end prospects, but he checks a lot of boxes with how he plays the position and there should be even more to tap into.

And when you look at what the Titans have done this offseason, they’ve created a pretty nice environment in which to drop a young quarterback, with Dan Moore and Kevin Zeitler signed in free agency to shore up their offensive line and create what I think will be a firmly top-12 (dare I say top-10) unit with Bill Callahan running it.

Ward plays with a calm demeanor, but his play creates excitement. And he would invigorate a Titans (or any) fan base with his play. He is much more than the top quarterback of a weak class. He is just a good prospect that has the combination of being able to win both in and out of structure that all modern quarterbacks need.

https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football/article/2025-nfl-draft-cam-ward-is-much-more-than-the-top-qb-of-a-weak-class-heres-why-234835325.html

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