It’s official.
After months of breathless hypothesis, movie breakdowns, scouting profiles, Professional Days, personal exercises, and extra, Cam Ward is headed to the AFC South. The Tennessee Titans confirmed all of the pre-draft buzz, and made the Miami quarterback the first-overall decide within the 2025 NFL Draft.
Simply what are the Titans getting? Are they getting the franchise quarterback they desperately want?
Let’s dive into what Ward does nicely, how he’ll win within the NFL, and what he’ll want to enhance as he adjusts to life as an expert quarterback.
A confirmed downside solver, even within the face of stress
There are two facets of Ward’s energy within the pocket. The primary offers along with his means to deal with stress, and the second comes when it comes to how he solves issues in and across the pocket.
The 2 work collectively to color an image of the fashionable NFL pocket passer.
Let’s begin with stress. Stress is a truth of life within the NFL for quarterbacks.
There are two totally different sorts of stress you’ll face. First is the stress that comes with being the primary total choice. Ward continues to be getting used to the brand new Titans hat on his head, however already you might be certain there are requires him to start out Tennessee’s first recreation subsequent season earlier than we even know who their opponent can be.
How will Ward take care of that stress?
We can not reply that query right here tonight, solely Ward himself can reply that over the approaching weeks and months. That’s a part of the riddle Tennessee tried to unravel through the draft course of, nevertheless it is without doubt one of the causes scouting is such a tough artwork. We would not know the reply to that query till Ward is in Tennessee and getting his first style of life as an expert.
However then there may be the opposite form of stress quarterbacks face. The stress of a defender in your face, or a participant like Abdul Carter bearing down in your blindside. How do you take care of that?
Right here is probably Ward’s greatest energy as a prospect.
Whereas he has many strengths as a quarterback, Ward has quite a lot of methods he can succeed within the face of stress, whether or not via footwork, play energy, or generally sheer will.
That’s actually going to serve him nicely in Tennessee.
Take this primary instance, a third-down play in opposition to Iowa State within the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Ward faces an unblocked inside move rusher nearly instantly after the snap as there’s a breakdown within the safety. The Cyclones ship a pair of rushers via the A-Gaps, in addition to a nostril deal with that the middle takes head-on. The operating again steps as much as take one of many blitzers, however the second will get turned free.
Ward shrugs that defender off, flashing the form of play energy that issues on the quarterback place. However it’s what he does subsequent that stands out. Fairly than instantly bail from the pocket — as you generally see from quarterbacks after they face stress early within the down — he climbs the pocket.
As he does so he retains his eyes downfield and spots a receiver breaking open on a crossing route. Ward drops in an ideal throw, and the Hurricanes transfer the chains:
(Word, for readers on Apple Information you have to to click on the above hyperlink to see the included play).
A couple of snaps later in opposition to Iowa State, Ward finds a special approach to beat stress. This time he spots a free rusher early within the down and instantly slides and climbs. Once more he retains his eyes downfield, permitting him to identify a crosser late within the play for a giant achieve:
On this play in opposition to Florida State, Ward sees a pre-snap Cowl 0 look from the Seminoles. Right here he doesn’t beat the stress along with his athleticism, or his toughness, however somewhat his thoughts:
Ward is aware of earlier than the snap that if the protection brings the seven defenders alongside the road, Miami can not block everybody. So he’s going to must “catch and launch” this shotgun snap if he has any likelihood to outlive. The unblocked defender off the sting comes, and Ward instantly takes the snap and replaces that blitz with the ball, snapping off a throw on a fast slant that punishes the blitz.
It is a essential lesson for a younger quarterback. Sure, it’s good to be again in a clear pocket dealing with spot drop Cowl 3, when it seems like a Thursday evening recreation of 7-on-7. However you must need to be blitzed, you must like being blitzed as a result of the large performs can observe.
Offered you learn it out appropriately.
Let’s have a look at fixing issues as a quarterback, with two good examples to start out with. First is that this fast throw in opposition to Virginia Tech:
The Hurricanes have a quad bunch to the left, and present a smoke display to one of many receivers, hoping they’ll get the secondary to chew down so Ward can hit one of many deep vertical routes.
However with the Hokies dropping right into a Quarter-Quarter-Half protection, the 2 vertical routes are taken away. So Ward snaps off a fast, anticipation throw between two beneath defenders. A fast learn, an issue solved, and a giant achieve for Miami on a high-percentage throw.
Right here is one other instance of Ward fixing a downside in opposition to Florida:
Miami needs to hit the spot-wheel mixture to the correct, with the skin receiver operating the spot route whereas the tight finish runs the wheel route. However with each routes coated, Ward is compelled to his Plan C, which is a put up route in the course of the sphere.
With the pocket collapsing round him, Ward hangs in there and makes a robust throw for a giant achieve.
Let’s put all of it collectively with this ultimate instance:
Once more, Ward faces stress after working via a full-field learn. However he spins away from stress, retains his eyes downfield, and solves the last word issues confronted by an amazing throw — whereas rolling to his left — for a landing in opposition to the Gators.
The Titans have drafted a pocket passer who can remedy issues, and beat stress, inside and outdoors the pocket. All stipulations for the place.
Dialing again the aggression
Ward’s means to evade stress, prolong performs, and remedy issues is a little bit of a double-edged sword. A blessing and a curse, if you’ll.
For a lot of younger quarterbacks, one of many first issues they should be taught when adjusting to life within the NFL is what they’ll get away with, and what they can’t. This can be a essential lesson for Ward’s improvement.
A few of his greatest errors in school got here when he was merely attempting to do an excessive amount of, and ended up making the issue he was attempting to unravel a lot larger for his staff.
Take this play in opposition to Wake Forest, which comes late within the second quarter of a three-point recreation. Miami has the lead and the ball, simply outdoors the purple zone, dealing with a 2nd-and-15 state of affairs.
Miami dials up a center display, with Ward pumping on a faux to the operating again earlier than in search of tight finish Elijah Arroyo. However Wake Forest, particularly defensive finish Jasheen Davis, diagnoses this completely, placing himself proper within the throwing lane:
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Bear in mind, this can be a 2nd-and-15 state of affairs on the Wake Forest 29-yard line. The suitable play at this level? Most likely to turf this, and stay for third down.
It is a quarterback attempting too arduous to make one thing occur.
Miami in opposition to Duke, simply over ten minutes remaining within the fourth quarter, and Miami leads the Blue Devils by eight. Ward and the Hurricanes face a Third-and-5 state of affairs on the Duke 41-yard line.
Miami opens with a flat-7 smash idea to the left, however with Duke dropping into zone protection, each the fast out and the nook route are coated. Ward has a window to hit the bottom dig in the course of the sphere, however with the pocket beginning to collapse somewhat than keep and hit that, he rolls to his proper. As he tries to purchase time, he retreats to his personal 40-yard line, earlier than uncorking an ill-advised throw late, throughout his physique, over the center.
Thereby breaking one of many cardinal sins of quarterback play:
Cue the “Vape Pope” meme from Conclave:
These are the sorts of errors that Ward might want to be taught to keep away from within the NFL.
One other instance from Miami’s recreation in opposition to California, with the Hurricanes trailing by 11 early within the third quarter. This comes on a 1st-and-10 state of affairs in Miami territory.
Ward opens to a go/out mixture on the correct facet of the formation, however with that coated, he begins to roll to his proper in an try and create.
What he creates is one other late throw over the center, into protection, that goes the opposite manner for a brutal Decide-Six:
Miami survived with a one-point win, however that is one other instance of what to not do as a quarterback.
If there’s a silver lining to this double-edged sword, it’s this: It’s simpler to be taught as a quarterback to dial again aggression than it’s to learn to dial it up. Making an attempt to learn to be an aggressive QB is a a lot more durable lesson to be taught — notably within the NFL — than it’s to learn to throw the ball away, handle danger, and generally stay to battle for an additional down.
The Titans zeroed in on Ward early on this course of, and hope that he can grow to be their face of the franchise.
Given his strengths, there may be each motive to consider Ward can grow to be that participant. But when his aggression stays an issue, he may find yourself being a really excessive variance quarterback for Tennessee.