NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans’ new hope wore a tan suit over a white T-shirt as he took the phone call from Nashville. Then Cam Ward walked through the tunnel from the back-stage green room in Green Bay, putting on his Titans hat en route to his hug with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
Adam Schefter reported that along the way the Titans passed on an offer from the Giants to move back to No. 3 in exchange for next year’s first plus a package of more. And before Ward was holding up his light blue Titans’ jersey with No. 1 (the pick, not necessarily his uniform number) a trade was announced: The AFC rival Jaguars jumped at a high price from No. 5 to No. 2 for Travis Hunter, the corner/receiver seen by many as the best player in the draft.
If the Titans are right about Ward, they will revel in the choice as he looks to make plays against Hunter in two games a year in a 1-2 matchup that will draw a spotlight. If they are wrong and the Jags and the consensus win out, they will get hammered for passing on him or the big trade package. [Unlocked]
“If you identify a franchise quarterback, there is really not a price you can pay for that in my mind,” Mike Borgonzi said, reiterating what he and Brian Callahan told me at the owners meetings on March 30. “That’s the most important position in all of sports.
"And if you come to a consensus, and we did, that he has the potential to be that – he’s a young quarterback and he still has a lot of things to work on – but I think the intangibles with him, his work ethic, his want-to to become better, we felt comfortable with that.”
Hard not to really like/ appreciate the way he's carried himself tonight and through the process. #Titans https://t.co/7sbZatTcm2
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) April 25, 2025
They think he will be a franchise quarterback, and maybe he will be. The draft is the start, not the finish and while grades will fly we need time for things to play out and to make fair judgements.
"I would describe my game as a play-making pocket passer," he said. "I love getting the whole receiving corps and the running backs the ball. I just think what I expect out of my career is to be one of the best quarterbacks to ever put it on. That's the aspiration that I had on myself since I was a kid. And I think as long as I'm willing to work hard, be a good teammate, and keep believing in God, it'll work out for me."
It’s hard to trust the Titans now, given their recent track record.
They’ve made largely bad personnel decisions for five years, firing Jon Robinson after he lost his touch, hiring and firing Ran Carthon, who celebrated picks and signings prematurely, and firing Mike Vrabel who surely hit a down stretch with a depleted roster but proved himself to be a pretty good game-day coach and motivator.
Borgonzi is the personnel guru now, and comes from a great program in Kansas City. But Carthon was from the 49ers. The new GM is operating a notch below Chad Brinker and has support from two former GMs in Dave Ziegler and Reggie McKenzie. Callahan’s been around a lot of great quarterbacks -- Peyton Manning, Matthew Stafford and Joe Burrow -- but he’s not been the key coach with any of them.
So while fans can get hopeful here and buy in, lots of smart people don’t see Ward as comparable to the best QBs from last year’s draft – Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Michael Penix or Bo Nix -- and don't expect the game that grew from Incarnate Word to Washington State to Miami to translate and grow in the NFL.
Will Borgonzi-Callahan-Ward lead a resurrection, or be next in line in the franchise’s struggle to find a franchise quarterback with a first-round pick since the Houston Oilers took Steve McNair third in 1995?
Since then and in Tennessee, it’s been Vince Young third in 2006, Jake Locker eighth in 2011 and Marcus Mariota second in 2015. Only Mariota was still the starter at the beginning of his fifth year, and he got benched not too long after.
Floyd Reese chose Young at the behest of owner Bud Adams, and prayed the night before about the Heisman winner becoming what the organization envisioned. He was the offensive rookie of the year, but Young did not ultimately make it.
Surely, Titans brass and people throughout the organization have said similar prayers in recent days.
Callahan said Ward is an incredibly quick processor with great physical tools, size and athleticism.
"He’s sort of good at everything,” Callahan said. “He’s got really unique athletic ability. He can move the ball with his feet, he can throw it, his release is one of the quickest releases I’ve seen and he’s incredibly accurate. …The intangible part of it is really what separated him for us. His work ethic is top-notch, he’s got a chip on his shoulder, he’s trying to prove that he’s worthy every day.
Borgonzi loves his instincts and didn’t run when asked about comparisons of Ward to Patrick Mahomes, a quarterback he knows well from their time together with the Chiefs.
“Some of the things I mentioned about instincts and spatial awareness, when we studied Patrick coming out, I thought Cam showed that,” he said. “Now he’s got a long way to go to become Patrick Mahomes, future Hall of Famer, three Super Bowls right now. But there were certain traits. I think that I saw. I’ve been around Patrick right now, his ability to process and the instincts kind of stood out to me.”
If the Titans just acquired some version of Mahomes, a massive transformation is ahead.
It's hard to envision, but so due.
"There's nothing flipped for me," Ward said. "There are still a lot of people out there who'll be talking crazy, maybe some of y'all in that room. But the only thing that matters to me is my locker room, the coaching staff and the support staff. So we plan on changing things around."
