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Cam Ward Dynasty Value: Definite QB1?

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Cam Ward had a long road to the NFL, starting at QB for Incarnate Word, Washington State, and Miami over the last five years.

After declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft (and then reversing that decision), Ward had his best season for the Hurricanes, turning into a Heisman candidate.

He follows in the footsteps of Bo Nix as a five-year college starter trying to be a top NFL Draft pick.

Does he have the tools and traits to be a fantasy stud, regardless of situation? Let's dive in.

Cam Ward Dynasty Values

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Cam Ward Draft Profile

Cam Ward Combine Results

Zero Star Recruit

Ward played QB in a Wing-T offense at Columbia High School in Texas. With the team rarely throwing the football, he was not getting any looks as a future college QB, even at the FCS level.

He attended a few camps in the area at Texas A&M and Baylor, but received no interest. After a camp at the University of Incarnate Word, the coaching staff at UIW were floored by his arm strength and deep passing skill (along with his athleticism running the Wing-T).

They offered him a scholarship immediately.

Instant Starter

Ward’s skills translated in the spring and he was named the starting QB as a true freshman. 

His first season was modest, throwing for 2,260 yards and 24 TDs across six games.

As Ward developed his skills and grew comfortable with the offense, he took off in his second year.

Ward threw for 4,648 yards with 47 TDs in 2021. He did toss 10 INTs and took 33 sacks with his risk-taking needing work.

Jumping to the FBS

Ward’s HC Eric Morris left to become the OC at Wasington State. Naturally, Ward followed him to Pullman as the new starting QB.

The impact was felt right away as the Cougars were immediately competitive.

Over two years at Washington State, Ward compiled 6,968 yards passing with 48 passing TDs and another 12 TDs on the ground.

Though he never cleared 150 yards rushing in either season, Ward did flash athleticism and rushing ability when plays broke down.  

Nearly in the 2024 Draft

With the Pac-12 breaking up after the 2023 season, Washington State was caught in limbo. Ward was getting transfer interest from Ohio State and Miami, but he announced his intentions to declare for the 2024 draft.

Most experts pegged him as a Round 3 or 4 pick with upside, and that didn’t quite appear to be his goal.

Ward reversed course and re-entered the transfer portal, ultimately going to the Hurricanes.

Dominating the ACC

Miami had lost to the Florida Gators two of the last three years and entered as 2.5-point favorites in the 2024 season opener.

Ward immediately showed his talent by dominating the Gators, throwing for 385 yards and three TDs in a 41-17 win.

Warf didn’t let up from there, ripping off nine straight wins to start the season.

Disaster struck against Georgia Tech, though, as Ward fumbled away a potential game-winning drive (a major issue for him at Washington State). 

Even with that loss and another to Syracuse, Ward was in the Heisman conversation. 

He ultimately got fourth place, throwing for 4,313 yards and 39 TDs in the regular season.

Pop-Tarts Bowl Controversy

Miami missed the College Football Playoff and played against Iowa State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl (most notable for the winning team getting to eat the Bowl mascot after the game).

Instead of opting out of the game, Ward started and played for the first half. He led the offense to 31 points at the half, though the Cyclones kept it close at 28.

Ward sat out the second half and Miami lost 42-41.

This sparked controversy in the national media, crucifying Ward for not continuing to play with his teammates (though little criticism was thrown at other players who opted out completely).

NFL teams will likely grill Ward about his decision and how he felt watching his team struggle in the second half.

Cam Ward Highlights

Games watched: Washington (2023), Florida (2024), Virginia Tech (2024), Louisville (2024), Florida State (2024), Georgia Tech (2024), Duke (2024), Iowa State (2024)

Experts tout Ward as the top QB in this class and possibly as the top pick in the NFL Draft.

Let’s take a look at the film and see how he stacks up…

Improv Ability

Every team searches for the next Patrick Mahomes-type QB who can do unbelievable things when the play breaks down. Ward just may be the one who can mimic this.

Though no one is Mahomes, Ward excels at keeping his eyes downfield when pressure forces him to improvise. He feels the pressure while staying patient to allow his WRs to find open space to make a play. 

In the play above, Ward gets the snap and his LT immediately misses the block off the edge. Ward calmly steps into the gap, but the zone coverage has matched up well against the Hurricanes receivers.

Ward’s eyes stay downfield while he works his way to the sideline, buying time. Ultimately, he finds a way to not only complete a pass, but get a first down.

This wasn’t even Ward’s best improv play of this game. He actually made the game-winning “pass” on the final drive when any other QB would have been sacked… twice. 

Ward’s Elite Zip

In terms of passing, Ward’s zip in the short to intermediate area is NFL-ready.

With just a quick flick of his wrist, Ward gets excellent velocity on his passes to dissect the defense. This allows the ball to get to the receiver faster and not allow the defense to react.

In his first game as a Hurricane, Ward splits the safeties with a 30-yard pass right into his receiver's hands. 

A QB with less zip would need to worry about the safety closing in and making a play, but Ward is able to get the ball to the target extremely quickly.

This skill solidifies him as a top QB option in this draft.

Underrated Mobility

Ward had his best career rushing season in 2024, running for 204 yards and four TDs. That total is a bit meager, but Ward offers mobile upside, even as he pushed 225 pounds. 

He won’t take off on designed runs like Jayden Daniels, but Ward can certainly pick up chunks of yardage when the play breaks down. He is also big enough to take on contact and hold up.

In this TD run against Cal, Ward recognized the rusher crashing inside, so he is able to scramble to his left and find a big hole.

That same rusher recognizes the lack of containment and doubles back, but he is unable to catch Ward.

He could be more of a rushing threat than his stats show -- a la Deshaun Watson in his prime on the Texans.

Stop Playing Hero Ball

Ward’s biggest weakness is trying to do too much. He rarely lives to fight another day, throwing the ball away or taking a sack. Instead, Ward will always try to make a play.

His footwork often breaks down when he panics when pressure hits or his first read isn’t open.

His attempts to play hero also led to a major fumbling problem for most of Ward’s college career. He peaked in 2023 with 11 fumbles at Washington State (but reduced those to only three at Miami).

Ward had a chance to doctor a game-winning drive against Georgia Tech, but almost immediately fumbled the game away on the play above.

With two checkdowns on each side in the flat, Ward had an opportunity to get to another down with an incomplete pass or easy checkdown going out of bounds. Instead, he kept dancing around against a three-man rush and fumbled the football.

This issue can be cleaned up with good coaching, but similar to Caleb Williams as a rookie, it could lead to some rough games early in Ward’s career. 

Cam Ward Team Fit: New York Giants

Though HC Brian Daboll and GM Joe Schoen are on the hot seat, the Giants offense would be the best situation for Ward.

Daboll developed Josh Allen as OC for the Bills and even helped Daniel Jones and Tommy DeVito to spurts of competence as the Giants HC.

His system would utilize Ward’s zip with crossing routes at the intermediate and deep levels. He also works toward his QBs strengths with allowing plays to be audibled and mirrored at the line depending on the defense.

Rollouts are common, especially with the dagger concept against zone coverage.

All of this, along with the willingness to adapt to a QBs strengths, would give a strong schematic baseline to fit Ward’s skillset.

Having a stud WR like Malik Nabers certainly wouldn’t hurt. Plus, with Ward’s penchant for targeting the slot, Wan’Dale Robinson would provide a solid target there as well.

Ward certainly could flash top QB skills as a rookie in New York.

Dynasty Value Conclusion

Ward is a tough evaluation in dynasty. He certainly has the skillset to be a QB1 sooner rather than later, but some of his warts in terms of footwork and pressure also shows a huge downside. 

If he was in the 2024 draft class, he likely would have been valued similarly to Bo Nix instead of a potential top-five NFL Draft pick.

Ultimately, he is a cautious QB2 with upside if he lands in the right situation with enough weapons to help elevate his level of play. 

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Shane Hallam, Writer

Shane has over 20 years of experience creating content and playing every fantasy football format including redraft, dynasty, devy, IDP, and more. He is a multi-year winner of $500 dynasty leagues on the FFPC and utilizes deep film and scheme study to enhance his fantasy performance.