“With the first pick, the Tennessee Titans select Cam Ward.” With that statement, Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that the quarterback from the University of Miami will be responsible for reviving a franchise that has not had a star quarterback since Steve McNair left for Baltimore in 2006.
Ward is not the most talented player of the class that entered the 2025 NFL Draft, but he was the only quarterback with the level to be selected in the first round and immediately become a starter in the most competitive league in the world.
According to journalist Ian Rapoport, the Browns, Giants, and Saints asked the Titans if they were willing to negotiate the first pick, but the Tennessee team closed the door on them because they did not want to pass on Cam Ward.
A long road to being the number one pick in the Draft
Unlike Caleb Williams, the first overall pick in the 2024 Draft, Ward was not on universities’ radar when he graduated from high school and barely received a sports scholarship offer from Incarnate Word, which plays in the NCAA Division II.
But in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Ward immediately stood out and transferred to Washington State in the FBS, the top category of college football.
Originally, Ward planned to enter the 2024 Draft, but he was not considered one of the top prospects and the NCAA rules allowed him one more year of eligibility, so the talented quarterback transferred back to the University of Miami.
With the Hurricanes, Ward caught the attention of the NFL for the strength of his arm, his great mobility, and his ability to throw under pressure, qualities that made him the best quarterback of his generation leading up to the 2025 Draft.
In Miami, Cam Ward was chosen as the best player in the ACC; he won the Manning and Davey O’Brien awards as the best quarterback in college football in 2024, and finished fourth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, which awards the best college player of the season.
The great challenge with the Titans
After a forgettable season with Will Levis and Mason Rudolph as quarterbacks, the Titans are betting on starting from scratch with several new faces, with Cam Ward as the main figure, Mike Borgonzi as the new general manager, and coach Brian Callahan in just his second season.
One piece of good news for Ward is that in early April, the Titans signed Tyler Lockett, a veteran wide receiver from Seattle, who should form a great duo with Calvin Ridley, who signed last season.