There was no grand surprise atop the 2025 NFL Draft.
In a move expected for weeks, the Tennessee Titans used the first overall pick on Cam Ward out of Miami, securing their quarterback of the future.
Lauded for his arm strength and big-play ability, Ward led the country with 39 touchdown passes and ranked second with 4,313 passing yards as a fifth-year senior in his lone season with the Hurricanes.
His 74 completions of 20-plus yards were tied for the most among FBS quarterbacks.
The Titans’ selection capped a roller-coaster journey for Ward, who was a zero-star recruit out of Columbia High School in West Columbia, Texas, when he committed to Incarnate Word, the only school to offer him a scholarship.
Ward, 22, spent two years at Incarnate Word and two more at Washington State before he transferred to Miami, which he led to a 10-3 record and set program records for passing yards and touchdowns in a season.
Entering the offseason, debates raged about whether Ward or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders — the son of Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders — was the top quarterback prospect in a draft considered light at the position.
But Ward quickly established himself as the consensus choice.
Ward is now tasked with leading a Titans team that just finished 3-14 — its third consecutive losing season — but that boasts a second-year head coach in Brian Callahan who found success as the Cincinnati Bengals’ offensive coordinator during Joe Burrow’s first four seasons.
