Scouting Report: Riding the Cam Ward Roller Coaster

The conversation surrounding Miami quarterback Cam Ward is a downright fascinating one. It’s one that has even forced me to look in the mirror and challenge my most deeply rooted beliefs on drafting quarterbacks. On one hand, the upside with Ward is undeniable. The talent and traits are evident. On the other hand, there’s far too much to clean up for Ward to be considered a prospect that’s ready to take on the NFL immediately upon his drafting. I’m far from the only one to see Ward in this bipolar manner…which is ultimately why I find the discourse so fascinating. Somewhere along the way, we’ve gone from discussing Ward as a developmental prospect that needs time to discussing Ward as a franchise-changing quarterback worthy of the first overall pick in the draft.

That’s just not consistent with the way most of the draft nuts have been analyzing him. So, what gives? Is it as simple as lying season ramping up in earnest? Maybe. Are people overvaluing that performance in the Pop Tarts Bowl? Maybe. I mean, that game did really piss me off. It was some of the best quarterback tape I’ve ever watched. The problem is that the game happened just as the discourse on Ward started really heating up. So, his staunchest supporters pointed to it as if to say “see? I rest my case!” as if the rest of his tape simply didn’t exist. All that stuff against Duke and Georgia Tech? Eh, who cares!?!? Look at what he did against Iowa State in the first half of the bowl game! I digress.

As I believe in most cases, the answer is likely somewhere in the middle. All of the above, if you will. We’re still prisoners of the moment in today’s social media landscape, after all. The most recent viral clip is the most memorable. In Ward’s case, no one’s remembering the throws off his back foot against Florida. They’re remembering the frozen rope laser over the shoulder of his receiver with a cornerback draped across his back. And, you know we can’t blame the teams at the top of the draft, like the Titans, for leveraging that to build hype for Ward. For a team that is at least discussing the possibility of trading back to gain more top 100 picks, they want the other teams thinking there’s no way they’ll pass on one of these quarterbacks. Drive up the price so you can maximize the return.

I ultimately side with the tape, and the tape still says this is a guy that needs to sit and develop. That didn’t change with one stellar bowl game and some agent hype trickling through to the national media. The eye in the sky don’t lie, and whether you love Ward’s potential or are terrified of it, most of us can agree that he isn’t a Week 1 starter. I’ve seen a precious few suggest otherwise. The Patrick Mahomes drafting has been a popular comparison for Ward, and look…I get it. If you listen to Football & Other F Words regularly, you already know I’ve been workshopping this idea that Mahomes and Josh Allen actually ruined scouting. Since then, teams have become obsessed with physical traits, and have been willing to ignore major red flags in order to draft developmental guys they think can turn into Mahomes and Allen. It’s how situations like Anthony Richardson in Indianapolis have happened.