NFL Teams Reportedly Grade Cam Ward QB1 'then a Pretty Big Gap' Until Shedeur, QBs

With Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders generating so many headlines before the NFL draft, it would be easy to assume there is a gap between the top two quarterbacks and everyone else at the position.

But the gap reportedly might be between No. 1 Ward and No. 2 Sanders.

"The Tennessee Titans desperately need a quarterback," ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said during a Sunday appearance on SportsCenter. "They do like Cam Word a lot. Not only from his upside perspective on the field, his arm strength, his movability, his durability, they believe that off the field, he is a fierce competitor. They feel like he's a really good person, and their interviews with him, and their private workouts with them, their exchanges with him have been really good. So, everything is positive. 

"That said, I do not sense that the Titans have made a firm determination yet. They know players like pass-rusher Abdul Carter, Travis Hunter out of Colorado, are those possibly generational-type players, that term generational you throw around. So, they've been looking around, but they did cancel the private workout with Shedeur Sanders, which tells a lot about how they feel from a quarterback perspective and how the rest of the league feels that it's Cam Ward as QB1, then a pretty big gap, then the rest of the field."

That the Titans apparently like what they see from Ward comes as no surprise, as the Miami signal-caller has been seen as the potential No. 1 pick leading up to the draft.

B/R's NFL Scouting Department projected Tennessee to select Ward with that first pick in its most recent mock draft with Sanders falling to No. 9 and the New Orleans Saints.

Yet it was Fowler's revelation that some around the league feel there is a "pretty big gap" between Ward and Sanders that stands out and could hint at a draft-day slide for the latter despite his efforts in helping turn things around at Colorado this past season.

Multiple other mock drafts project Sanders to fall to the latter half of the first round come draft day, which would quickly become one of the biggest stories around the league.

It may also serve as motivation, as the Buffaloes signal-caller said teams would "be a fool" to not select him.

Still, any gap between Ward and Sanders is also a testament to the former's ability. All Ward did was set the NCAA Division I record for touchdown passes during his collegiate career with a skill set that could set him up to be the Titans' franchise quarterback for years to come.

That is certainly how Tennessee hopes this draft plays out in the upcoming seasons.