The Fantasy Football Implications of Cam Ward to the Titans
With the first overall selection of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Tennessee Titans bring quarterback Cam Ward to the podium. The former Miami Hurricane adds some excitement to a Titans passing attack that has been bereft since their surprising 2020 season under Arthur Smith and Ryan Tannehill. While it's hard to see a similar offensive explosion with Ward in Year 1, it’s a fantastic first step toward making Titans fantasy pieces relevant again.
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Cam Ward Prospect Profile
Coming out of high school in the Houston area, Cam Ward was a zero-star recruit, due in large part to running a Wing-T offense at Columbia, and subsequently accepted the only DI offer that came his way; FCS Incarnate Word. This ended up being the perfect situation for Ward to prove he could do just fine outside of the Wing-T, leading the FCS in touchdown passes as both a freshman (24) and sophomore (47) before transferring out to Washington State for the 2022 season.
Those two campaigns in the FBS (back-to-back Honorable Mention All-Pac-12) were enough to convince him to consider entering the 2024 NFL Draft. After initially putting his name in the bucket, he eventually withdrew and transferred to Miami in a bid to improve his Draft stock (and maybe earn a little NIL money in the process). Over 4,300 yards, a school-record 39 touchdowns, and a Davey O’Brien Award later, the decision clearly paid off, pushing Ward from a presumptive Day 3 option into the NFL’s No. 1 overall pick.
| Year | Team | Yards | TD | INT | ADJ Comp% | Rushes | Rush Yards | Rush TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Washington St. | 3,228 | 23 | 9 | 75.3% | 107 | 58 | 5 |
| 2023 | Washington St. | 3,723 | 25 | 7 | 78.6% | 120 | 144 | 8 |
| 2024 | Miami (FL) | 4,313 | 39 | 7 | 76.5% | 60 | 204 | 4 |
En route to setting a new NCAA record with 158 career touchdowns, Ward developed into an unpredictable home run hitter, throwing out of difficult angles all over the field, while flexing incredible arm talent. Much of this came from out of the pocket, continually extending plays and allowing his pass-catchers to eventually break away from coverage. Even when that wasn’t the case for his receivers, Ward was more than willing to throw into tight windows anyways, leading to 31 big-time throws and a 6.3% BTT rate (PFF), both of which ranked second among all Draft-eligible FBS (42) quarterbacks last season.
Some of Cam Ward‘s best throws from 2024, for your viewing pleasure: pic.twitter.com/zeKqVAtdUD
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) February 4, 2025
Will Ward have all this time to float around the pocket at the next level, and are NFL edge rushers going to let him retreat so deep without dropping him? No, of course not, (and his 6.7% sack rate over the last three years points toward that potential issue), but let’s not ding a prospect for having some play-making ability. With that said, from a fantasy scope, it would have been nice to see him take off with the ball a little more often. There’s no doubt the former Hurricane is athletic, but he was only tasked with four designed runs over the course of last season, and averaged only 2.6 scrambles over his final six games, or when the schedule of defenses got a little tougher.
Overall, Cam Ward likely needs a little more structure in his game as he adapts to the professional level, but no one is going to doubt that he can be a play-maker when things break down; something that the Titans haven’t had in quite some time.
What to Expect from Cam Ward and the Titans Offense in 2025
Much like with Caleb Williams coming out of last year’s Draft, there is no reason to question whether or not the first overall pick is going to have to scrape for playing time —Ward will be in the lineup on Day 1. Unlike Williams, the surrounding offensive talent still has a ways to go. With DJ Moore, Keenan Allen (eventually Rome Odunze), and an improving o-line ready to ease last year’s No. 1 pick into NFL life, Ward has Calvin Ridley, an age-33 Tyler Lockett, and a front-five that didn’t see much improvement under OL guru Bill Callahan.
Obviously, the offensive weapons and protection can improve (sorry, Treylon Burks) between now and the start of the season, but the situation isn’t as ready-made as we saw a calendar year ago.
Furthermore, how much can Brian Callahan reel in Ward’s out-of-structure preference in the early going? The quarterback’s previously mentioned 6.7% sack rate (‘22-’24) and his 15.8% pressure-to-sack rate (‘24) could lend himself to ending drives prematurely, and his propensity to jam the ball into tight windows may turn a positive into a negative while he gets used to the speed of defenders at the next level.
One way to mitigate some of these early challenges would be to lean on an RPO or quick-game approach—something Ward is well-versed in from his time at Miami. The presence of two reliable pass-catching backs in Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears could ease the transition, as could the steady influence of veteran wide receiver Tyler Lockett, who—though past his peak—still brings a savvy ability to turn short throws into meaningful gains thanks to his experience and knack for creating yards after the catch.
This would go a long way into building a floor for both Ward and the backfield, and, more importantly for the offensive environment, elongate drives.
Regardless of whether or not Ward comes into the league as a top-15 quarterback, he brings more stability than any Titans fantasy piece has seen in a number of years. This pushes Calvin Ridley back into the WR3 conversation, and gives both Pollard and Spears an opportunity to squeeze into the borderline RB2/3 range, not unlike we had seen with Najee Harris/Jaylen Warren over the past couple of seasons. Will this extend out into the ancillary pieces of the offense in 2025? That’s hard to say, and will rely on what sort of talent Tennessee brings in through the rest of the NFL Draft.
Bottom Line
- Cam Ward has a ways to go before we’re locking him in as a fantasy QB option in typical 1QB redraft leagues, but he brings excitement to a franchise that has sorely been lacking.
- The Titans still have some work to do to insulate Ward with a talented offensive environment, but this selection is a good start.
- Ward’s pre-Draft Underdog ADP had him coming off the boards as the QB24, which feels more than fair, considering drafters were well aware he was heading to Tennessee. His projected lack of high-end rushing and/or high-level pass-catchers is reason to avoid him in a lot of cases. With that said, there really is a ton of play-making ability here, and as we’re getting that deep into a format like that, he’s a more than reasonable click in the QB20 range.
