Ian Hartitz provides fantasy football analysis for Cam Ward, who was the No. 1 selection of the Tennessee Titans in the 2025 NFL Draft.

After months of speculation, the Tennessee Titans kicked off the evening with a massive surprise … just kidding: Miami QB Cam Ward is officially the first overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Titans Draft Cam Ward No. 1 Overall

The suspenseless opening to the draft was, of course, thanks to Ward's ascension over the past 12 months. The former Washington State signal-caller performed just fine during the 2022 and 2023 seasons, but it was his incredible 2024 campaign in Coral Gables that really put him on the radar of NFL scouts and front office executives.

Cam Ward Fantasy Football Outlook for 2025

Ward among 55 Power 5 QBs with 300-plus dropbacks in 2024:

  • Passing TDs: 39 (No. 1)
  • Pass yards: 4,313 (No. 2)
  • Yards per attempt: 9.5 (tied for No. 2)
  • Adjusted completion rate: 76.5% (No. 9)
  • Passer rating: 119.9 (tied for No. 3)
  • PFF pass grade: 91.7 (No. 2)
  • Big-time throw rate: 6.3% (No. 3)

Oh yeah, and Ward did all of this in style. I like to envision Ward as Rust Cohle when the pocket starts to break down: Cool, fearless … maybe a bit too reckless, but man, it's a lot of fun to watch–and honestly, it brings back some Steve McNair vibes.

Fantasy Life lead draft analyst Thor Nystrom didn't quite roll with the Air McNair comp, but his Jordan Love comp reflects the reality that we're looking at a QB with all sorts of arm talent alongside the sort of off-script ability that is tough to teach.

As Thor explained:

"Cam Ward’s got a high-voltage right arm, and there isn’t a throw in this world that he doesn’t think he can make. Ward’s game is a freewheeling, shoot-em-up display of aggression and creativity. He even talks like John Wick. “My mentality on the football field is (I) don’t give a (expletive),” Ward told The Athletic.

“When Ward gets cooking, watch out. Ward is a full-field reader, and he trusts what he sees implicitly. He has an elastic, twitchy arm, shooting the pill out from unorthodox sidearm slots. This is a useful trick under duress, but the extra arm action and non-repeatable upper-body mechanics do have slightly deleterious effects on his overall accuracy and placement. He modulates speeds well, and has feathery touch when he needs it.”

Of course, Ward will have every chance to grow into his sky-high upside as the Titans' clear-cut franchise QB of the present and future. A Week 1 starting job is inevitable; second-year head coach Brian Callahan needs to show more oomph after a combination of Will Levis and Mason Rudolph yielded just the league's 27th-ranked scoring offense.

Of course, as bad as Levis and Rudolph have respectively been for portions of their career, neither received much help in the way of a quality offensive environment in 2024. This has unfortunately been par for the course in Tennessee since their ill-fated decision to trade A.J. Brown to the Eagles.

Tennessee Titans Fantasy Football Outlook with Cam Ward

Titans rank in "Supporting Cast Rating" over the last five years:

  • 2024: 30th
  • 2023: 17th
  • 2022: 22nd
  • 2021: 20th
  • 2020: 3rd

Hopefully, handing out big money in free agency to offensive linemen Dan Moore and Kevin Zeitler improves PFF's reigning 28th-ranked offensive line considerably, because so far the only real additions to speak of at WR consist of Tyler Lockett (33 in September) and Van Jefferson (on his fourth team since 2023). Here's to hoping the Titans take a long look at utilizing the 35th pick of the draft on adding another weapon for Ward (perhaps former Washington State teammate Kyle Williams?), as this franchise is absent of a third-round pick at the moment.

Titans fans should feel great about Ward's long-term upside, although it's tough to be too excited about his fantasy potential for 2025 specifically due to his status as a limited rusher inside an offensive environment that doesn't figure to do him a ton of favors as he goes through typical NFL growing pains. Current Fantasy Life rankings have Ward as the consensus QB28, just behind guys like Matthew Stafford, Geno Smith, and Sam Darnold.