Would you take a chance on Cam Ward?

[kungfoodude]

Part of it is him, part of it is him being on the Titans.

We would be in the same boat but ESPN loves Alabama stars.

[LinvilleGorge]

2 hours ago, kungfoodude said:

Part of it is him, part of it is him being on the Titans.

We would be in the same boat but ESPN loves Alabama stars.

The trade up really put Bryce in a huge spotlight. Yeah, the Bama/SEC effect definitely played a big role too.

[LinvilleGorge]

18 hours ago, 45catfan said:

Had there been a better QB, he wouldn't have been #1.  

Truly amazing insight here. LOL 

These draft class vs. draft class comparisons just aren't relevant. It really doesn't matter how prospects stack up vs. other draft classes.  A lot of people are doing the same thing with T-Mac. Oh, he would've been the 4th or 5th best WR in this class or that class. Okay, great. We're still sitting on the clock at #8 and we have to make a pick or take a trade offer. Drafting a player from another draft class isn't an option so who cares? Everyone kinda accepted going into this draft that it was weak at the top but pretty strong in depth. Now we get to see how it plays out on the field. Plenty of draft projections prove incorrect.

[45catfan]

4 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Truly amazing insight here. LOL 

Sometimes the most simple answer is the best one.  Anybody that follows the draft knew this was a rough class for QBs.  The media tried like heck to prop up Sanders just to make it interesting.  In most QB classes, Ward would not have gone #1 overall. You know that and I know that.

[45catfan]

Oh yeah, then there's this.

Levis to miss season due to shoulder surgery.

The Titans were backed into a corner.  They had the #1 pick they could use on a QB, versus taking stab in a crappy FA QB market while dealing with an ineffective incumbent QB with a bum shoulder needing to be medically repaired.

What choice did they really have?

Most Big Boards of course had Ward the QB1, but few had him prospect #1. Position group#1 and overall#1 don't always align, even at the QB position.

[LinvilleGorge]

25 minutes ago, 45catfan said:

Sometimes the most simple answer is the best one.  Anybody that follows the draft knew this was a rough class for QBs.  The media tried like heck to prop up Sanders just to make it interesting.  In most QB classes, Ward would not have gone #1 overall. You know that and I know that.

I wouldn't say most. I think people are letting the overall weak QB class and weak top of the draft board skee their views on Ward. If he played for Bama or UGA or OSU he would've probably been considered generational. The guy has all the physical tools you want and put up insane numbers. What more do you want? The only thing he lacked as a prospect was the media hype and honestly that was largely due to the Sanders hype machine sucking it all up.

[CPcavedweller]

12 hours ago, Proudiddy said:

I think where they would be picked if redrafted before both classes have played enough football to really tell.  Baker literally looked like a washout with us after Cleveland gave up on him, then turned world beater with the Rams, got a prove it deal with the Bucs and has looked awesome ever since.

Asking where Ward would’ve went had he went in ‘24 is just stupid.  I’m no GM, but I wouldn’t have taken Williams #1 either.  I would’ve taken Joe Milton way higher than he went.  I think Shadeur should’ve been a first round pick this year.  Point being, opinions are like buttholes, everybody has one.  It’s my opinion that Ward has that “something special.”  I get that feeling that he’ll be an even better pro than he was a collegiate QB because of whatever that quality is.  I think he’s gonna surprise a lot of people, especially being such an under appreciated first overall pick.

He took the Browns to the playoffs, and won. The issues with Baker were overstated in Cleveland, as they were at OU.

If Shadeur Sanders was not the son of Deion, he would've been taken by at least the second round. His stats given the absurdly awful complementary run game in that offense were great. He will be great, if he gets the chance. 

My theory on Shadeur is that coaches shy'd away from him knowing that Deion would be lurking in the background should they fail. He hasn't turned down the potential of a NFL gig. 

[LinvilleGorge]

17 minutes ago, CPcavedweller said:

He took the Browns to the playoffs, and won. The issues with Baker were overstated in Cleveland, as they were at OU.

If Shadeur Sanders was not the son of Deion, he would've been taken by at least the second round. His stats given the absurdly awful complementary run game in that offense were great. He will be great, if he gets the chance. 

My theory on Shadeur is that coaches shy'd away from him knowing that Deion would be lurking in the background should they fail. He hasn't turned down the potential of a NFL gig. 

They definitely shied away in part of Deion and the hype machine. Hell, even the Browns' football people didn't want him. Just look at the faces in that room as the pick was being announced. LOL 

But honestly, Shedeur checks all the boxes of guys who put up big numbers in college but don't project well to the NFL. QB friendly pass happy offense. Bad defense that forces the team to chase points. Weak schedule. Marginal measurables and talent. I mean, let's be honest, what plus physical traits does he have at the NFL level? Size? Below average. Arm? Below average. Mobility? Average. Then you add in the Travis Hunter factor of an all world athlete being your primary target. Finally, you have to look at his playing style. He basically plays like Johnny Manziel. There's pretty much only two guys who have made that style of play work for them in the modern era and that's Favre and Mahomes and they both have absolute cannon arms. Caleb Williams has that cannon and he's still struggling to make it work.

Yeah, the Deion circus hurt him but when you objectively look at his NFL projection then combine it with the reports that he handled the whole pre-draft process extremely poorly it's not a shock he fell to the 5th. If his name was Shedeur Johnson instead of Shedeur Sanders there wouldn't have been this massive hype train around him. The media hype misled a lot of people regarding his NFL projection. He basically projects as a backup and the last thing you want out of a backup is a circus. Their fault or not, that's why guys like The Golden Calf of Bristol, Kaepernick, and Cam never carved out careers as backups.

[CPcavedweller]

On 7/21/2025 at 1:23 PM, LinvilleGorge said:

They definitely shied away in part of Deion and the hype machine. Hell, even the Browns' football people didn't want him. Just look at the faces in that room as the pick was being announced. LOL 

But honestly, Shedeur checks all the boxes of guys who put up big numbers in college but don't project well to the NFL. QB friendly pass happy offense. Bad defense that forces the team to chase points. Weak schedule. Marginal measurables and talent. I mean, let's be honest, what plus physical traits does he have at the NFL level? Size? Below average. Arm? Below average. Mobility? Average. Then you add in the Travis Hunter factor of an all world athlete being your primary target. Finally, you have to look at his playing style. He basically plays like Johnny Manziel. There's pretty much only two guys who have made that style of play work for them in the modern era and that's Favre and Mahomes and they both have absolute cannon arms. Caleb Williams has that cannon and he's still struggling to make it work.

Yeah, the Deion circus hurt him but when you objectively look at his NFL projection then combine it with the reports that he handled the whole pre-draft process extremely poorly it's not a shock he fell to the 5th. If his name was Shedeur Johnson instead of Shedeur Sanders there wouldn't have been this massive hype train around him. The media hype misled a lot of people regarding his NFL projection. He basically projects as a backup and the last thing you want out of a backup is a circus. Their fault or not, that's why guys like The Golden Calf of Bristol, Kaepernick, and Cam never carved out careers as backups.

Colorado's leading rusher had 330 yards, on the season. 

Sanders definitely threw a lot but it wasn't like an Air Raid offense. Having a poor run game in a pro tempo offense in college isn't not a "good thing". But hey, over 4,000 yards on 74% completion percentage with 37 touchdowns while having the worst run game in FBS is just stat padding. 

[LinvilleGorge]

2 hours ago, CPcavedweller said:

Colorado's leading rusher had 330 yards, on the season. 

Sanders definitely threw a lot but it wasn't like an Air Raid offense. Having a poor run game in a pro tempo offense in college isn't not a "good thing". But hey, over 4,000 yards on 74% completion percentage with 37 touchdowns while having the worst run game in FBS is just stat padding. 

Interestingly enough Deion worked hand in hand with Mike Leach to develop his offense. Mike Leach is an air raid guy.

Are you arguing for Dillon Gabriel to be the #1 pick? I mean, he put up crazy numbers against better competition and he wasn't throwing to the Heisman winner.

[Bear Hands]

On 7/21/2025 at 10:37 AM, LinvilleGorge said:

Truly amazing insight here. LOL 

These draft class vs. draft class comparisons just aren't relevant. It really doesn't matter how prospects stack up vs. other draft classes.  A lot of people are doing the same thing with T-Mac. Oh, he would've been the 4th or 5th best WR in this class or that class. Okay, great. We're still sitting on the clock at #8 and we have to make a pick or take a trade offer. Drafting a player from another draft class isn't an option so who cares? Everyone kinda accepted going into this draft that it was weak at the top but pretty strong in depth. Now we get to see how it plays out on the field. Plenty of draft projections prove incorrect.

Totally.  It's also very relative to their development.  

I had a preferential eye on Penix, Daniels & Ward over the years and they were talked about as legit prospects dating back to 2022 (but opted to return/transfer/declare when they did respectively).  

Ward's ceiling is pretty dope - I'll always go back to the Was State/Oregon shootout in 2022 that got me fixed on him.  He played ridiculous but also made a late iffy decision under pressure that ultimately became a 44-41 loss to Bo Nix and the Oregon machine.  But man, he played super. 

At that time, I know Spielman and Sando had an insider pod talking about these future prospects and how Ward wasn't viewed super highly (yet) but had all the skill to be a top pick...could've been a 3rd/4th rounder in 2023.  He kept developing the next year, could've gone higher in 2024, and then went to Miami and showed VAST pocket improvement, propelling him to the top of the draft.    

So it goes to show there's too many factors to make those year-to-year comparisons a lot of the time.  Ward has always had the skillset, and he stayed in school, and showed his development was absolutely legit, became the top pick with more tape and less projection.  Other teams are banking on development once drafted (McCarthy), which I'd honestly be a bit more nervous about than Ward.  Although he has Kevin O'Connell along with JJ and Addison, which is about as good of a situation you can ask for haha.