Cam Ward: 'It Would Be a Dream' to Play for Saints 'Someday' amid No. 1 Pick Rumors

Cam Ward will likely be off the board by the time the New Orleans Saints select with the No. 9 pick of the 2025 NFL draft, but the quarterback prospect has thought about playing for the NFC South team in the past.

"I loved watching [quarterback] Drew Brees and [receiver Marques] Colston out there," Ward said, per Jeff Duncan of the New Orleans Times-Picayune (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). "It would be a dream of mine to play for them, if I get a chance someday. But that's not really my focus right now."

Ward and Shedeur Sanders are widely seen as the top two signal-callers in this year's draft class, and B/R's NFL Scouting Department ranked the former as the best one on its most big board of prospects.

Quarterbacks are always at a premium come draft time, and the Tennessee Titans (No. 1), Cleveland Browns (No. 2) and New York Giants (No. 3) all having long-term needs at the position makes it extremely unlikely the MIami product would fall to No. 9.

Florio wrote that "Ward seems destined to be the first overall pick in the draft. And with the Titans linked to a grand total of zero veteran quarterbacks, it seems likely that Tennessee will pick Ward with the No. 1 selection."

That didn't stop the rookie-to-be—who was in New Orleans on Monday to accept the Manning Award at the Superdome when he made those comments—from meeting with the Saints at the NFL Scouting Combine.

"It was a great meeting," Ward said. "If you get a chance to go play for a Super Bowl-winning coach like coach [Kellen] Moore. He knows how to dial up the playbook. . . . The biggest thing I took away from that meeting was that you just have to be prepared at all times, whether you go in as a starter or you go in as a backup. You never know when your number is going to be called."

Saints fans can dream, but it's not happening barring a trade-up on draft day.

The team will likely start Derek Carr in 2025 and focus elsewhere with the No. 9 pick.

Perhaps that means a tight end like Penn State's Tyler Warren, an offensive lineman like LSU's Will Campbell or a defensive player like Georgia's Malaki Starks. B/R's NFL Scouting Department projected the pick to be Starks in its latest mock draft, which could give New Orleans a foundational defensive back for years to come.

And maybe he could be teammates with Ward years down the line if the quarterback realizes his dream and eventually joins the Saints