A round-up of Cam Ward NFL draft analysis

The Hurricanes have a potential 1st overall NFL Draft pick in quarterback Cam Ward. Like any potential franchise QB there are plenty of analysts looking to pick apart Ward’s game.

The Miami Hurricanes might have produced the first player selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. Quarterback Cam Ward has been working out for the Tennessee Titans (holders of the 1st overall slot), Cleveland Browns and New York Giants.

Ward, who came in 4th in the Heisman Trophy balloting in ‘24, is the clear top QB prospect in the draft. The question is whether or not the Titans keep their first, and from there do they draft a QB 1st overall. On many sites Ward is in the top-10 overall for prospects and he’s the top-rated QB in ‘25.

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When it comes to Ward, his NFL Draft Combine measurements are fairly standard. Ward doesn’t stand out in any category at six-foot-two, 219 pounds and with a 9” hand. Ward’s hand is small for an NFL QB, but there have been recent small handed QB’s who have found success, such as: Jared Goff (9”), Joe Burrow (9”) and Patrick Mahomes (9 1/4”).

Ward put up huge numbers in his lone season in Coral Gables. The QB threw for 4,131 yards and 39 touchdowns on seven interceptions. Ward averaged 9.5 per pass attempt, rushed for four TD’s, and was sacked 22 times. Against the two highest rated defenses Ward faced (Florida and Iowa State), per SP+, Ward finished with six TD’s and one pick while only taking one sack in six quarters of football.

In order to create this report I took the draft analysis from a number of sources (CBS, Bleacher Report, PFF, Yahoo, NFLDraftBuzz and GoLongTD) and have put together a draft analysis of Ward, including info from a couple of QB coaches that I know from the industry.

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Strengths

Cam Ward has a ton of strengths as a quarterback. He’s more than a thrower, or even a passer- he’s a QB. When thinking about throwers think Kyle Boller and JaMarcus Russell.

When thinking about passers think talented players that lack big game winning ability- Phillip Rivers comes to mind here. Some players convert from throwers to passers like Josh Allen. But Allen still lacks that signature win that plagued some big arm QB’s like Dan Marino and uber-talented ones like Lamar Jackson.

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Then there are QB’s. Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, and Peyton Manning fit this bill. These are guys with all of the intangibles even if they’re not the prototype (or when they are in Manning’s case). Maybe they lack the combine body like Brady, or lack the big arm like Montana, or they lack the QB School polish like Bradshaw.

Ward has the polish, the leadership, the accuracy and the arm. One QB guru I spoke with said Ward has, “Clear big play ability.” We saw that all season long from Ward on tape.

After speaking with two QB coaches and reading through a half dozen sites analysis, here is the consensus about Cam Ward’s strengths:

The most common traits mentioned were his ability to make big plays. “Phenomenal playmaker and improviser” was one quote I pulled from the research. “Natural playmaker” was another.

The second trait that came up was Ward’s ability to both change arm angles and throw off platform (also comes up as a weakness later). Ward’s natural ability to throw the ball, his ability to change arm angles on screens or with defenders in his face, and his ability to slide the pocket and make throws without his feet set are strengths most scouts saw on tape.

Via Yahoo, Nate Tice said, “Ward has a good frame, a good arm with a quick sidearm delivery that can attack all three levels, and he can create with his legs or off-platform when needed and can make the higher difficulty plays.”

I was really impressed with the information gathered from the PFF draft analysis on Ward. Per PFF, Cam Ward earned a 95.1 PFF passing grade on throws between the NFL numbers (the field in college and the NFL are painted differently, even if both are 53 ¹⁄₃ yards wide).

Those intermediate to deep middle throws are the danger zone for QB’s. The fact that Ward nails those throws on seams, deep crossers and digs is a huge step up over most college QB’s who are weak in the MOF and stronger to the sidelines on outs, dropouts, and slide routes.

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Weaknesses

Cam Ward showed few signs of weakness for Miami in ‘24. his two biggest issues are both regarding turnovers- small hands make for strip sacks, and his over-confidence in his arm at times led to costly INT’s.

While Ward threw darts from the pocket into the intermediate to deep middle, he also lobbed up those deep, late, middle throws that are off limits from 8th grade on. QB’s get away with those throws against Ball State, at the FCS level, and in high school against weaker opposition. There is no weak opposition in the NFL, just ask Urban Meyer.

One QB coach I spoke with said, “(Ward) holds onto the ball too long and doesn’t always make the smart throw.” One of the biggest plays of the season, one that kept Miami from another comeback and a shot at the playoff was Ward’s strip sack fumble late against Georgia Tech. NFL players will be watching how Ward carries the football out and away from his body on tape.

Via Yahoo, Charles McDonald said, “Ward will have a learning curve early on as he adapts his style to the increased pace of NFL play, but he has all the tools to be a franchise quarterback.” I think that’s true of every QB making the jump, from HS to D1 and from D1 to the NFL.

What was weird about Ward at times was his lack of urgency. Ward skated out of bounds at the last second at times costing undisciplined teams 15-yard penalties (USF, Virginia Tech) but also missing out on key yardage. In the NFL that type of nonchalant play won’t work, those players close fast and will annihilate Ward into his own bench.

Clearly Ward’s game is his ‘hero’ plays that one article discussed, but it could also turn into a weakness. His internal clock needs to be accelerated because the NFL is a fast and furious game played in a 2-second window.

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Comparisons

I’ve seen a Steve “Air” McNair comparison and honestly that’s not a bad comp for Cam Ward. They share a similar build at 6-foot-two and 230 pounds. McNair is a better overall athlete while Ward has better ball placement on intermediate shots.

Ward has also been compared to Sam Darnold (Giants.com) when Darnold was coming out of USC. They do share some traits: making plays off platform and script, arm strength, middle of the field throws, and size (give or take a half an inch).

Ward’s delivery has been compared to Phillip Rivers, but Rivers is 6-foot-5 and his sidearm throws were less likely to be batted down at the pro level compared to the just barely six-foot-two Cam Ward.

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The Wrap

The NFL scouts have to be on a rollercoaster ride when watching tape of Cam Ward. Ward says and does all the right things, he brings his teammates along for the ride to get in front of more teams, he comes prepared, he has the confident swagger needed of a superstar.

But he does some mind boggling things as well, and while they didn’t cost him against a bottom-30 USF defense, they did against the Yellow Jackets and even at times in a weird game against a reeling Florida State Seminoles team.

Per the NFL Draft website one NFL personnel executive said, “I think he can be dialed back a little to make him more efficient.”

If I’m thinking about drafting Ward I’m putting together a tape of his ugly deep-middle throws and his fumbles and then am showing him dozens of clips of that stuff not working in the NFL. Along with what he needs to do in order to clean that up and clips of QB’s succeeding once they stop making those mistakes.

Photo by John Weast/Getty Images

Let him continue his Mahomes’esque plays but within the confines of 2-3 new parameters around ball safety and security. What is going to impact Ward’s pro career the most? Where he lands. If he winds up with a bad franchise (Cleveland) and/or bad coaching (NY Giants) he could be a draft bust just because of his situation.

Some players have overcome that early situation to become much better QB’s (Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield) later on, while others promising QB’s are ruined forever (Joey Harrington, David Carr). Here’s hoping that Ward winds up at a strong franchise hellbent on winning.