The Tennessee Titans got their guy in Cam Ward, but the quarterback will struggle to change the team's fortunes in 2025.
The Tennessee Titans set their sights on Cam Ward in the draft. And they even went a little over the top in comparison to Patrick Mahomes. But here are three reasons why Ward will struggle to change the Titans’ fortunes in the 2025 NFL season.
It’s not to say that the Tennessee Titans made a mistake in drafting Cam Ward. Under the circumstances of the 2025 NFL Draft, they may have made the right choice. They needed a quarterback, and Ward’s profile shone bright enough to give the team a reasonable hope he could be their guy in the long term.
But there are some obstacles to Ward getting the Titans moving in the right direction sooner as opposed to later. Keep in mind the Titans stood at No. 32 in the 2025 NFL.com power rankings after the draft.
QB Cam Ward can’t cover line deficiencies like Jayden Daniels
Again, this isn’t an area to knock Ward. He could get some first downs with his legs. But that’s not his jam.
The offensive lineman know they will have to protect him well, according to tennesseetitans.com. Guard Peter Skoronski said Ward needs to just do his thing.
“Nothing but his job,” Skoronski said. “It's simple, just do what he has to do. We have faith in him obviously. He was picked No.1 for a reason. We have faith in him, and if he just works hard, which I trust he will, there's nothing magical (he has to do). Just doing your job and being accountable and being consistent, and that's all it will take. We have trust in him and that will only continue to build as we get to do stuff and get into camp.”
Skoronski said he’s impressed by Ward’s ability to zip the football.
“The arm,” Skoronski said of Ward. “Obviously he has a ton of experience under his belt, five years, which I think is a great thing. … He did an unbelievable job at Miami. So, excited to see how that translates and what he can bring to us and make us better.”
Ward will have to count on those lineman, which entered the 2025 NFL Draft as the No. 21-ranked unit in the league. And the Titans didn’t do much in the draft to move the needle. They took guard Jackson Slater in Round 5. He could help some, according to nfl.com.
“Slater offers a coveted ability to play both guard and center at good value in the fifth round,” Turron Davenport wrote. “The Titans like how he came from a smaller school like FCS Sacramento State and leveled up to tougher competition at the Senior Bowl. Slater figures to be a depth addition, but has a good chance to make the roster.”
But he’s not a game-changer.
Cam Ward doesn’t have big-time weapons
This may be a little bit of a tough take. But the Titans don’t have elite players at wide receiver.
Tyler Lockett is a nice addition, but he’s 32 years old. He has 10 years of NFL play on his body and can’t be that guy at this stage of his career.
The Titans will lean on Calvin Ridley, but he looks more like a No. 2 guy at this stage of his career after catching 64 passes for 1,107 yards and four scores in 2024. Plus, he’s 30 years old and a downturn is likely coming soon.
Then the Titans have Treylon Burks. He simply hasn’t lived up to expectations. Burks played in only five games last season and has only 53 career catches in 27 games. That’s not impressive. Making matters worse, Burks is recovering from a torn ACL last November. He won't be ready to return when the Titans take the field for training camp in July.
So maybe a rookie will stand out? The Titans got Chimere Dike out of Florida and Elic Ayomanor from Stanford. And they added undrafted free agent Xavier Restrepo, who played with Ward at Miami.
How will the receiver affect Cam Ward's performances?
If the receivers don’t help Ward out enough, he might wind up chucking interceptions. He’s been known to take a lot of chances. Titans head coach Brian Callahan said Ward believes in his talent, according to tennesseetitans.com.
“I think anytime you have quarterbacks that have talent, that have the ability to make those types of plays, they tend to try to make them,” Callahan said. “And they're confident in their ability to do it, and most of the time, the guys that I've been around that put those types of plays out there is they're going to make a whole lot more of them than they miss. That's the mentality you want to have. I think that he's got that mentality. I think he's got the talent to do it.”
Callahan said the Titans will try to coach Ward into measuring reckless with wisdom.
“There's definitely things where, if you asked him, there's a couple of throws, you're like, ‘That probably wasn't the best idea.' ” Callahn said. “He'd go, ‘Yeah, you're probably right.' And that's okay; that's part of maturing and growing in the game. You learn how to play quarterback at the NFL level, which there's a balance to that. There's a time to be efficient, a time to take completions, a time to throw the ball away and there's also a time to let your talent take over and all the things that God gave you, allow to put it on display. I think he understands that, which is the part I think is the most encouraging for me, is that all the things he did.”
