Just four years ago, hardly anyone had heard of quarterback Cam Ward. He was a zero-star recruit out of high school, per 247Sports. 

But after dominating at Incarnate Word (2020-21, FCS), Washington State (2022-23) and Miami (2024), everyone knows who Ward is, and he enters the 2025 NFL Draft cycle as the likely top quarterback selected. Ward’s 158 career passing touchdowns — 71 at Incarnate Word, 48 at Washington State and 39 at Miami — stand alone as the most passing touchdowns in Division I history (including FCS production), with three more than former Houston quarterback Case Keenum’s 155. 

This past season with the Hurricanes was also historic for Ward, as he led the nation with 39 passing touchdowns while ranking second in the country with 4,313 passing yards. Both of those totals were Miami single-season school records, and he became the first quarterback in ACC history to lead the nation in passing touchdowns, per CBS Sports Research. That’s why Ward won the 2024 Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s best quarterback. 

Stylistically, there are some similarities between Ward and the 2024 NFL Draft’s first overall pick, Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, when he came out of USC. Both extend plays out of structure and outside the pocket for jaw-dropping completions. However, Ward might actually do a better job than Williams, coming out of college, at resetting his feet and making sure they’re on the ground, thus generating more on-platform throws than one would think a quarterback who dances around behind the line of scrimmage would make. 

Another plus for Ward is that he’s shown demonstrable improvement in each year of his collegiate career, which provides hope that a similar trend could continue in the NFL, and he has the arm talent in the velocity department to complete passes with slim margins for error. 

Here are the best team fits for the possible first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. (Please be aware that it is highly unlikely Ward is selected outside of the first three picks.)

New head coach Aaron Glenn and new general manager Darren Mougey decided the Aaron Rodgers experiment failed, which is why the Jets are pulling the plug on the 41-year-old future Hall of Famer. New York went 5-12 despite there being plenty of talent on the roster.

The 2024 Jets and the 2024 San Francisco 49ers became the first two teams since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger with more than 10 losses in a season despite being favored in more than 10 games, per CBS Sports Research. Yes, New York choked a lot with an NFL-most six losses with a fourth-quarter lead last season, but there are pieces Ward could grow alongside, including wide receiver Garrett Wilson, running back Breece Hall and guard Alijah Vera-Tucker. The defensive talent present — corner Sauce Gardner, defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and edge rusher Will McDonald IV — are also capable of pushing the Jets to being one of the NFL’s better units on that side of the ball. This could be a soft landing spot for Ward should he somehow magically fall in the draft. 

Ward would immediately have a go-to guy in first-team All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers, who is fresh off setting the league’s rookie receptions record (112) despite catching passes from Aidan O’Connell, Gardner Minshew and Desmond Ridder. Las Vegas also has a defensive building block in edge rusher Maxx Crosby and the second-most effective cap space in the league ($85.8 million, per Over the Cap). New head coach Pete Carroll could team up with Ward to turn around the Raiders quickly if he falls in the draft.

The Giants are at their all-time low entering the 2025 offseason. Their 14 losses in 2024 were their most in a season in franchise history, and two of the star players they let walk in free agency last offseason tore it up immediately with their new teams.

Running back Saquon Barkley became the 2024 rushing champion (2,005 rushing yards) and won Super Bowl LIX in Year 1 with the Philadelphia Eagles, while safety Xavier McKinney’s eight interceptions with the Green Bay Packers were the second-most in the NFL in 2024, which resulted in him earning first-team All-Pro accolades. His eight picks were also three more than the Giants’ entire team.

New York has $32.1 million in effective cap space this offseason, per Over the Cap, which is the 15th-most in the league. Plus, wide receiver Malik Nabers is fresh off producing the second-most catches by rookie (109) while teaming up with running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. to become the third rookie duo ever with 1,000 or more scrimmage yards each. 

The Giants have some resources to improve the roster, and they need a new quarterback to build around after cutting Daniel Jones in-season in 2024. Ward could potentially be the guy to turn things around and save head coach Brian Daboll’s job. 

The Browns need a fresh face at the quarterback position in 2025. They went 3-14 in 2024 with quarterback Deshaun Watson tearing his Achilles in Week 7 and again during his rehab process, and he’s only played 19 games in three seasons since the Browns sent three first-round picks to the Texans to acquire him. When Watson did play last season, his 4.03 yards per dropback were the fewest by any quarterback in the first seven games of a season since 2006, when the statistic first began being tracked. 

Watson’s play, along with running back Nick Chubb suffering another serious injury, played a major role in the Browns having the NFL’s worst scoring offense (15.2 points per game) last season. It’s just the latest chapter in Cleveland’s quarterback carousel. Since the Browns returned to the NFL as a franchise in 1999, they have started 40 different quarterbacks, which is the most in the league in that span and as many as the Packers, Chargers, Patriots and Seahawks have combined during that time, per CBS Sports Research.

Ward could potentially break the quarterback wheel in Cleveland. 

The Titans have put it out there that they could be open to trading the first overall pick. Sure, it’s possible, but the Titans also desperately need a new quarterback to build around because Will Levis is not that guy. Levis produced the highest rate of plays in a season (16.3%) with a sack, fumble or interception since former Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell (17.8%) in 2009, per CBS Sports Research.

Tennessee, as a result, tied its single-season franchise record for losses (14). However, there are some weapons in Nashville with 1,000-yard back Tony Pollard and 1,000-yard receiver Calvin Ridley. The Titans’ offensive line is still a youthful work in progress overall, so Tennessee would be wise to use some of its $35.7 million in effective cap space, per Over the Cap, to fortify that area. If they do, the Titans could pave the way for Ward to be the 2025 NFL Draft’s first overall pick as a dynamic creator who also takes cares of the football; his 3.3% turnover worthy throw rate, per Pro Football Focus, is way lower than what’s been going on in Nashville lately. 

For more draft coverage, you can hear in-depth analysis twice a week on “With the First Pick” — our year-round NFL Draft podcast with analyst Ryan Wilson. You can find “With the First Pick” wherever you get your podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, etc. Listen to the latest episode below!