Commentary: What’s happening with former WSU QB Cam Ward at Tennessee Titans camp?
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from Scoop City, the Athletic’s NFL newsletter.
The lead-up to the NFL draft is always a monthslong grind. For quarterbacks drafted No. 1, it’s typically followed by an unrelenting media spotlight.
But has any quarterback drafted first overall seen such little media attention as Cam Ward?
Not this century. Even the relatively minimally heralded Alex Smith, 2005’s No. 1 pick, graced covers of magazines and newspapers across the country. Instead of Ward, Travis Hunter (and two fish) landed Sports Illustrated’s NFL draft preview cover.
That lack of publicity is on par with nonquarterbacks like Jaguars DE Travon Walker, the No. 1 pick in 2022, who was similarly overshadowed by a more recognizable No. 2 pick (Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson, who also graced SI’s cover).
Ward’s quiet offseason is the result of a perfect storm.
A team that often lacks national media attention in the Titans, drafts somebody who only plays one position, has no relation to Deion Sanders and had been considered a midround pick 12 months prior – and neutral fans are expected to care?
Instead of Ward’s amazing underdog story, climbing from Incarnate Word to Washington State and then Miami, the QB spotlight is on a fifth-rounder who is fourth on Cleveland’s depth chart. Heck, I even struggled to find an excuse to write about Ward, before realizing that struggle itself was the story.
Regardless of how far Shedeur Sanders’ shadow looms over Ward, history tells us there’s a 40% chance Ward will be the best professional quarterback of this class. So … what have we seen from him?
• Pre-draft, Ward’s Patrick Mahomes-like awareness stood out to our film guru Ted Nguyen, though a lack of arm talent voids any superstar comps (at least for now), meaning Jordan Love or Baker Mayfield are more common comparisons.
• Ward’s received the majority of first-team snaps in training camp, though he’s yet to be named the Titans’ Week 1 starter. He should win that role by default, as last year’s starter Will Levis had shoulder surgery that will keep him out for 2025.
• Ward’s best Tennessee showing came Saturday, per Titans beat writer Terry McCormick, when the rookie completed several deep passes to Calvin Ridley and Tyler Lockett.
I watched every throw from that practice session and saw a quarterback comfortable with the deep ball. He was finding Ridley early and often, and placing throws well.
Ward has the intangibles you want in a franchise passer.
He arrives at the facility at 5:30 each morning, and that work ethic combined with his natural leadership to quickly win over the locker room.
“You can’t help but to rally behind him,” said three-time team captain and Pro Bowl DT Jeffrey Simmons.
Still, it’s hard to expect much from a rookie hoping for average offensive line play, one who’s also surrounded by the league’s worst skill-position group. The Titans, 3-14 last season with an expected win total of 5.5 in 2025, are far from anyone’s radar.
I doubt Ward, once a zero-star recruit, minds being overlooked. In Tennessee, he has another opportunity to prove everyone wrong. You might even hear about it along the way.