Heading into the 2025 NFL season, the stage will undoubtedly be set for Tennessee Titans' number-one overall pick and rookie quarterback Cam Ward to have a major role come Week 1.
In a quarterback room filled with Ward, Will Levis, Brandon Allen and Tim Boyle, there's a clear favorite in the clubhouse to be the starter once next season kicks off. Tennessee and head coach Brian Callahan seemingly want to try their hand at emulating the Cincinnati Bengals' Joe Burrow model to quickly hand the keys to the rookie signal caller, perhaps leading this offense to new heights after a bumpy 2024 campaign.
And with Ward being primed to have a big impact off the bat in year one, could that put him in a position to win this year's Offensive Rookie of the Year award? In the eyes of ESPN's Ben Solak, that might be the case.
Solak stacked up each rookie's chances at winning this year's OROTY award, and while Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty is certainly a favorite too, Ward could have the edge simply from positional value.
"My favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year is Ward, the only passer with an obvious path to starting the vast majority of the 2025 season," Solak wrote. "He lands in a solid environment in Tennessee. The offensive line has been improved across all five positions over the past two seasons, and while the receiving room isn't amazing, nobody rated Washington's 2024 group or Houston's 2023 group as spectacular."
Despite a talent like Jeanty having the chance to secure a big impact in his first season with Vegas, if Ward can put the pieces together for the Titans as a promising quarterback, voters tend to lean in one direction when presented with similar scenarios in years past.
"The past two OROY winners are instructive," Solak wrote. "In 2023, quarterback C.J. Stroud won the award over Puka Nacua... Jayden Daniels won the award over tight end Brock Bowers... Stroud and Daniels were deserving, of course. But their clear victories -- Stroud received 48 of a possible 50 first-place votes, while Daniels got 49 -- emphasize the inescapable bias toward quarterbacks that permeates NFL awards voting. When faced with an excellent QB and an excellent non-QB, voters gravitate toward the former."
Following behind Ward and Jeanty on ESPN's Offensive Rookie of the Year ranking resides New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough, then the New York Giants' Jaxson Dart. Clearly, it's a quarterback's league, and the best one in the bunch of first-year throwers might be the one that takes that title at year's end.
Needless to say, this year's race for the award will be an interesting one to watch unfold– especially with the Titans' own having a nice chance of coming home with the hardware.
