The Hurricane emerging from southern Florida transpired into nothing more than a passing breeze in the grand scheme of the ‘24 College Football season. Miami crashed and burned down the stretch. They missed the playoffs after losing 2 of their final 3 games. Despite falling short of this benchmark, the Canes faithful still witnessed an enthralling season. More so than they’ve been afforded over recent seasons. Now that the dust has settled on it, Miami can take some solace from the year they had offensively. At the epicenter of pretty much everything good was their transfer QB Cam Ward.
Cam Ward’s escapades in college are well-documented. He’s called time on an illustrious career that saw him throw for 18k yards, become a Heisman finalist, and garner a consensus top 5 NFL Draft grade- very conservatively. Essentially every prominent draftnik and analyst is in agreement that Cam is QB1 in this draft class. Parallely, everyone is also in agreement that the quarterback class is relatively weak.
More akin to 2022 than 2024, with Kenny Pickett being the first QB off the board while going 20th overall. Now Cam Ward isn’t quite in danger of falling that far. But he better get his best cleats on. SI’s Albert Breer discerns he’s got flaws that could potentially make his stay in that green room longer than you’d think.
As he guested on “The Rich Eisen Show,” the namesake host asked Breer for his assessment of Cam Ward. Breer responded with an opinionated answer with murmurs he’s heard around the league baked in. “I used this term with you last week. I think, Rich, [Cam Ward is] the guy you chase ceiling with. He’s still inconsistent. He still has some growing to do. But he is somebody who has a high ceiling,” said Albert Breer.
This is a prevalent notion. While his closest contemporary, Shedeur Sanders, is considered to perhaps have a higher floor, akin to a Bo Nix, Cam Ward is considered to be the guy you punt with when you possess a top 3 pick. Especially given the current landscape of quarterbacks around the league and how concentrated they are in the AFC.
“If you’re Cleveland or Tennessee in the AFC, and you’re contending with Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert, CJ Stroud, and all these different guys. Maybe you do have to chase ceiling,” continued Breer. While this is in direct contradiction to the Bo Nix-Shedeur comp, it’s rational. The Broncos made the playoffs but weren’t primed to make much noise.
Contemplating risk vs reward is why the general managers are paid the big bucks. Front offices need to weigh whether Cam Ward is worth the opportunity cost of losing out on a more surefire pick, albeit in a less principal position. Such as EDGE Abdul Carter or even Travis Hunter. If teams conclude it’s better to forego picking a QB, Cam could slide down the board.
This actually segues into another conversation spawning on the airwaves. Since the QB class is considered weak, does it merit the Titans trading back from no.1 overall? Collect a haul of picks and then address the issue next year. The Giants, who currently hold the #3 pick, seem dead-set on going quarterback. They could want to move in front of the queue to make sure they get their man. Whether that’s Cam Ward or even Shedeur Sanders. NFL insider Tom Pellissero discussed this very school of thought during a separate iteration of the Rich Eisen Show.
Cam Ward to the Titans gets derailed if the Giants get desperate
It’s intriguing how the Titans have not signed a quarterback in free agency. If they did, it would’ve meant they lost leverage. Say Tennessee onboarded Sam Darnold instead of the Seahawks. Teams would’ve known they aren’t going QB, and so someone like Cleveland, picking #2, can rest assured they’ll have every QB available to them. Whereas by having their options open, the Titans have a mystique that could mean someone who likes Cam Ward trades for their pick. Because the Titans picking Cam could really spell trouble for the Giants’ own situation.
Pellissero is approaching things from a similar perspective. “[The Titans]are going to be certainly waiting to see. ‘Does anybody blow us away with a huge trade offer?’ They’ve not been engaged at any high level on any of these top free-agent quarterbacks or trade quarterbacks that potentially are available. People within the league believe that’s a strong sign that all this stuff is a dog and pony show, and they’re going to take Cam Ward number one,” he said. However, Pellissero indeed proceeded to throw a spanner in the works.
“If somebody, let’s say the Giants, come with an offer. ‘We’re going to give our next 3 first-round picks and multiple second-round picks and go up to number one because we want Cam Ward. If you’re [Tennessee], you probably go, ‘Okay, hold on. Let’s talk about this now,’” said Tom Pellissero. This cat-and-mouse chase that’s about to ensue is going to get ugly the closer we get to Draft Night. One thing is for certain though- If the Titans like Cam Ward, they shall go with him. They do hold all the cards. Cam will just hope he gets the requisite development and coaching needed for him to reach that ceiling Albert Breer alluded to.
The post Cam Ward’s Draft Stock Takes an Unexpected Hit as NFL Insider Sounds Alarm on $6.01B Team’s Agenda appeared first on EssentiallySports.
