Former Miami quarterback Cam Ward has a lot of expectations with the Tennessee Titans as the first pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. As part of his article, "Quarterback questions for 32 NFL teams: Contracts, QB1 races" Dan Graziano of ESPN asked, "How soon can Cameron Ward live up to his No. 1 draft pick?"
Ward is the third consecutive QB and ninth in the last 11 years to be selected first overall in the NFL Draft. Jaxson Dart, selected 22nd overall by the New York Giants, was the only other QB taken in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Fourteen QBs were selected in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Ward is expected to elevate a Tennessee offense that was 26th in passing yards, 16th in touchdown passes and 31st in interceptions during the 2024 season. Calvin Ridley returns for Tennessee as the top receiver after recording 64 receptions for 1,017 yards and four TDs in 2024.
Ward will inevitably be compared to other first overall QB selections. The two most recent QBs selected first overall were Caleb Williams by the Chicago Bears in 2024 and Bryce Young by the Carolina Panthers in 2023. Carolina and Chicago both struggled in their inaugural seasons with the first overall draft pick.
"How soon can Cameron Ward live up to his No. 1 draft pick status?Dan Graziano, ESPN
The Titans were convinced on Ward early in the process. Coach Brian Callahan was instrumental in Joe Burrow's transition to the league when he was the Bengals' offensive coordinator in 2020. Is Ward's rookie season going to look anything like Burrow's first year did before suffering a season-ending knee injury? Is he going to struggle to acclimate? Have the Titans built a strong enough infrastructure around Ward to help him succeed early in his career? And what would success even look like for this season's Titans?"
Carolina finished 2-14 in 2023 as Young completed 59.8 percent of his pass attempts for 2,877 yards, 11 TDs and 10 interceptions as a rookie. Chicago was 5-12 in 2024 as Williams completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 3,541 yards, 20 TDs and six interceptions as a rookie.
Burrow, the first pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, led Cincinnati to a 2-7-1 record as a rookie, completing 65.3 percent of his pass attempts for 2,688 yards, 13 TD and five interceptions in 10 games. Cincinnati finished seventh in passing yards in 2021 when they won the AFC Championship and Burrow earned Comeback Player of the Year.
"This guy is a football savant. ... He is a stone-cold killer of a leader, and I think that's exactly what Tennessee needed."@LRiddickESPN has high praise for Cam Ward heading into Year 1 🤩 pic.twitter.com/0F2NviArqg
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) June 4, 2025
Tennessee signed tackle Dan Moore, guard Kevin Zeitler and wide receiver Tyler Lockett as free agents and drafted WRs Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike. Tennessee also signed Xavier Restrepo, who quickly built a bond with Ward in their one season together with Miami.
All of the questions posed by Graziano are somewhat subjective. Houston has won the AFC South in the last two seasons with a 10-7 record. Indianapolis and Jacksonville finished over .500 in 2023. No team other than Houston finished with a winning record in the AFC South in 2024.
Tennessee added a mix of veteran players and young prospects around Ward to develop with him. In a mediocre AFC South, it might not be a reach to expect Tennessee to at least compete for a playoff berth in their first season under Ward.