Cam Ward 2025 NFL Draft Profile

Cam Ward 2025 NFL Draft Profile

Is Cam Ward really the QB1 of this draft? We have so much to talk about on this one, so why don’t you put some popcorn in the microwave and take a seat somewhere comfy while we go on the Cam Ward journey? No need to cheese the intro paragraph any longer. Here is your 2025 NFL Draft profile on the Miami quarterback!

We just did the profile on Shedeur Sanders, who is really the only real competitor for that spot, so make sure to check that out too.

I just need to make one thing clear before we start. Cam Ward’s journey doesn’t just start this past year at Miami. When Ward was at Washington State, I was extremely adamant that he was significantly better than Michael Penix. After this past year at Miami, I think more people have realized that’s exactly the case.

The Miami signal-caller hails from West Columbia, Texas, and was regarded as a zero-star recruit in high school. Incarnate Word was his only scholarship offer. The state of Texas is so huge that some really good players get under-recruited. I imagine a big reason Ward was under-recruited is that he ran the Wing T offense in high school.

Ward is really a story of the transfer portal success story. The comp I’m going to use later for Ward, that player spent all his collegiate seasons at Alcorn State. Jimmy Garoppolo and Tony Romo played at Eastern Illinois. It’s very possible if Ward were born ten years ago, he just rides out the wave at Incarnate Word. He spent two seasons there and started pretty much on day one. 47 touchdowns as a sophomore put him pretty squarely on the radar.

The next two years were spent at Washington State. His supporting cast wasn’t anything crazy but he put up pretty nice numbers in the post Mike Leach era. All of his numbers likely spike significantly if Leach were his coach. A 48-16 TD to INT ratio put him on even more radars, and he was viewed as a late first round pick prior to even transferring to Miami. In fact, he was essentially ready to declare for the draft and accepted an invite to the East-West game before changing his mind.

NFL Draft Stock Report: Week 1, Week 5, Week 6, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 14

I watched a ton of Miami this year ^ so you have plenty of reading to do if you want to peruse the stock notes. You will notice a ton of themes over and over again. Those include insane arm angles, splash throws all over the field, and a terrible defense where it felt like he had to score on every possession to win. I also have notes from the Miami Pro Day you can read here. Overall, it was a fantastic Pro Day, and the hype around him is very much warranted.

Ward, 22, is actually three days younger than Anthony Richardson. Does that put your head into a blender? I’m not sure what to really make of it beyond Richardson went to the NFL two years before he was ready and Ward just kept getting better over time.

We’re also talking about a guy who has thrown more touchdowns than any other player in the history of the sport. The pure production here speaks for itself. This past year with the Hurricanes, Ward posted 4,313 yards, 9.5 yards per attempt, 39 touchdowns, seven picks, at 67.2%. His 156 career passing touchdowns is an NCAA record. He also broke basically every single season passing record in Miami’s history.

There’s a progression factor that really needs to be noted here. Two really good examples on opposite sides of the spectrum are CJ Stroud and Josh Rosen. With Stroud, he was low-key brutal as a freshman but just kept getting better every time you saw him. Josh Rosen was the opposite. Lit it up as a freshman, got worse every time you saw him. Ward is more similar to Stroud in that regard and clearly puts the work in.

By the way, it’s not always a bad thing. A lot of the best quarterbacks in league history have that chip on their shoulder. It’s something Trevor Lawrence needs more of. Name whoever you want; Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, etc… a lot of the best guys in the league have that quality. If anything, it’s probably a blessing in disguise because you’re just not removing that quality from Ward.

One addition I want to mention on that, though ^. Some people are going to act like this Ward thing came out of nowhere. The key with any of this stuff is looking at it through the lense of snapshot moments in time. Ward was very much an NFL quarterback with Washington State. More people just found that out once he went to Miami.

The arm angles here with the Miami quarterback are just sick. Ward has a basketball background but looks way more like a shortstop to me. Nobody in this class is better at changing arm angles to make the most efficient throw possible. Ball comes out of his hand lightning quick, and it’s usually on target. That Mahomes quality, he has that.

Ward also has the pure intangibles on his side. Let’s also not forget about the meathead Mario Cristobal factor here. Justin Herbert didn’t do this with Cristobal. I’d argue nobody has previously. Cristobal really isn’t a good head coach. What’s the gap between him and Matt Luke? Certainly knows how to recruit. Beyond that, it’s hard to figure out what Cristobal is good at. To carry a program like this with an offensive line coach running your team is damn impressive. Ward was a leader for this team and carried Miami to heights that looked kinda like the old days if they had a defense to go along with it. It will be interesting to see if Carson Beck can really replicate that kind of success. My guess is he won’t.

I think the most impressive thing Ward does is his ability to make other athletes play at his pace. It’s hard to make other top-tier athletes look stupid. Almost like a baseball pitcher who creates a high whiff rate. Ward makes really good defenders look stupid and that fact can’t be ignored. This play right here gives a good example of exactly what I’m talking about. There’s a nuance and forward-thinking nature to his game. He doesn’t react to what you’re doing. You react to what he’s doing and controls everything going in without the play itself. It’s special stuff.

I may sound overly positive, but if you have hater blood and want negatives, I’ll give you one big one. The guy can’t help himself in terms of these cross-body throws. It’s Brett Favre 2009 NFC Championship against the Saints PTSD all over again. The Cal Game you can find it in the stock notes. Basically took Miami out of the game before a heroic comeback for that very reason. He’s so talented and so good at the second adaptation within the play that sometimes it comes back to bite him. We like aggressive Cam, let’s just be done with this cross-body cheese. Here’s what I’m talking about, and it’s gotta stop.

At the end of the day, the best quarterbacks in the NFL within the modern confines of the game have one ability that the other red chip or average starters just don’t have. This quality right here is why people should feel really good about Ward’s chances to become a real franchise quarterback. I’m talking about the second play within the play. Look, none of these guys in college anymore are making full read progression throws. However, with Ward, no quarterback in this class is better at adapting and making a play when his first or second look isn’t there. He’s very good at the adaptation within the game and it makes his transition to the NFL feel way more realistic.

His eye level is fantastic. Always down the field looking for big plays. It’s not hard to find splash throws deep down the field when you watch Miami. There’s a creativity within his play. Thrives in RPO settings and makes the right decision based on what the defense is showing him at a very consistent rate. A lot of the reason why he even tries that cross-body cheese is because he knows the talent he has and often times gets away with it. Then again, the torque he creates on some of these style of throws, unlocking the hips is really high end stuff.

The escapability part of his game is totally there. Obviously prefers to throw the ball within the pocket but he’s excellent in the off-platform stuff and can pick up first downs with his legs when the duty calls for it. He rushed for 204 yards on 60 attempts, rushing for four touchdowns. That may not sound like a lot but it also includes sack yardage so he’s actually a pretty decent runner. Not a burner but can pick it up when needed.

It’s not Uncle Rico side arm cheese either. That ball comes out hot. It’s maybe not generational arm strength but his pure ball velocity is pretty top tier. I’m probably taking his pure arm over everybody in the class. Can make every throw and it comes out with heat. He’s very good at layering deep balls down the field and has instincts to his game to connect with timing/precision.

Ward checks in at a tick below 6-foot-2, 219, and isn’t overly big but has more of a thicker frame than Shedeur does. Never feels like his size is an issue, and only had only four throws batted down in all of 2024. Was a shotgun quarterback basically the entire time in college. Again, I don’t think that’s because of his size but taking snaps under center… it’s something he will need to do more of at the NFL level.

Shedeur Sanders 2025 NFL Draft Profile

Comp = Human Evolution Prime Steve McNair (I was planning on this being his comp for like the last 6 months. Trust me, I have no interest in watching him go to Tennessee. Maybe that’s just the way the universe wants it and my comp is onto something…)

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