NFL Draft 2025 Rumors: 'Building Sentiment' Cam Ward 'Is Likely' to Be No. 1 Pick

As the Tennessee Titans dive deep into the top prospects in the 2025 draft, there appears to be growing buzz around Cam Ward being the top pick.

Per ESPN's Pete Thamel, there has been a "building sentiment" from scouts and executives at the Senior Bowl this week that Ward "is likely" to be selected No. 1 overall.

The lack of a consensus top signal-caller in the draft has left open the possibility that the teams picking at the top, starting with the Titans, might opt to go for the best player available and try to fill quarterback either later in the draft, via trade or free agency.

This isn't a particularly deep year for free-agent quarterbacks. Sam Darnold, Justin Fields and Russell Wilson are the top three who will be available. The pool could get deeper with players like Aaron Rodgers and Kirk Cousins candidates to be released by their current teams, but none of these are players you want to build a franchise around at this point.

Ward and Shedeur Sanders are battling to be the top quarterback in the draft, though neither is particularly close to being regarded as the best player available.

B/R's NFL scouting department's most recent big board has Ward ranked as the top quarterback, but he's only the sixth-best player in the class. Sanders comes in at No. 16 overall.

A team like the Titans that has significant needs on both sides of the ball could justify simply going with the best player available. Of course, that's rarely how the top of the draft works for a team with a glaring need at quarterback.

The only time in the previous seven drafts a quarterback didn't go No. 1 overall was 2022, and that was because the Jacksonville Jaguars had the top pick one year after selecting Trevor Lawrence.

Ward has huge physical tools that are going to be tantalizing for several teams at the top of the draft. He's got a rocket arm and isn't afraid to show it off. The 22-year-old threw for 4,313 yards, 39 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 13 starts for Miami last season.

The Titans secured the top pick in the 2025 draft after finishing 3-14 this season. They haven't picked No. 1 overall since 1978 when they were the Houston Oilers and traded up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to select Earl Campbell.