Cameron Ward Fantasy Overview

2024 Summary

College Production

A Wing-T QB who didn’t put up big numbers in high school, Ward flew under the recruiting radar and started his college career at Incarnate Word.

He dominated the lower-level competition from the jump, winning Freshman of the Year honors in 2020 and then leading the FCS with 47 passing TDs in 2021.

Ward parlayed that success into a starting job at Washington State, where he threw for 6,968 yards and 48 TDs on a 65.5% completion rate across the 2022 and 2023 seasons. He tacked on another 12 scores on the ground.

Ward originally declared for the 2024 NFL Draft but changed his mind after reportedly getting Round 3 and 4 grades. He entered the transfer protocol and landed in Miami.

Ward posted new personal bests last year in:

• Completion rate (67.2%)
• Passing yards (4,313)
• Yards per attempt (9.5)

Ward ranked second in the nation in passing yards and first with 39 TDs. He added 336 yards and four scores rushing.

Ward was named a First-Team All-American and won the Davey O’Brien Award given to the nation’s top QB.

Efficiency Metrics

Ward ranked second in Pro Football Focus passing grade last year among 114 qualifiers — behind only Jaxson Dart and just ahead of Shedeur Sanders. He completed a strong 67.2% of his passes on a big 9.8-yard average target depth.

An aggressive passer, Ward registered a 6.3% Big Time Throw Rate, which Pro Football Focus defines as “a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window.” That tied for seventh highest among those 114 qualifying QBs.

Ward was especially good throwing downfield last year. An FBS-high 56% of his completions went for 10+ yards. He ranked fifth in Pro Football Focus’ deep passing grade.

Film Notes

Ward is a gunslinger with plenty of arm strength to all levels of the field. He also has impressive improv ability, keeping his eyes downfield when plays break down.

Ward’s accuracy comes and goes due to inconsistent mechanics, though. And he’s sometimes guilty of playing hero ball, resulting in too many sacks and turnovers.

While he’s not an elite athlete, he’ll add value with his legs. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler said it best: “Mahomes-like scrambler — not fast but runs with savvy and takes yards the defense gives him.”

2025 Expectations

Projected Role & Competition

The Titans reportedly turned down at least one trade offer, keeping the first overall pick of this spring’s draft to take Ward.

That makes him the heavy favorite to be the Week 1 starter. Eight QBs were selected first overall over the previous 10 drafts. Six of them were under center for the season opener (Jared Goff and Baker Mayfield were the exceptions).

With Will Levis as his top competition, look for Ward to be piloting the Titans offense come Week 1.

Supporting Cast

Calvin Ridley returns as Tennessee’s top WR. He’s coming off his second straight 1,000-yard season, averaging a big 15.9 yards per catch. Ridley ranked 31st in yards per route and 37th in Pro Football Focus receiving grade among 84 qualifying WRs last year.

The pecking order behind Ridley is up in the air.

The Titans added WRs Van Jefferson and Tyler Lockett in free agency, but neither is a difference-maker at this point.

The NFL Draft brought WRs Chimere Dike and Elic Ayomanor in Round 4. Ayomanor, a 6’2, 206-pounder with strong college production, is one of our favorite sleepers in the WR class. Tennessee also added undrafted rookie WR Xavier Restrepo, who was Ward’s top target at Miami last year.

WR Treylon Burks remains on Tennessee’s roster. He’s working back from ACL surgery and can’t be counted on as a significant contributor.

Chig Okonkwo projects as the Titans’ lead TE. He’s finished with between 450 and 528 receiving yards in each of his first three NFL seasons. But he closed last year impressively, with 287 yards over his final six healthy games.

It’s an unproven pass-catching corps overall. But Ridley is a legitimate No. 1 WR, and there’s potential behind him.

The offensive line is in better shape than the pass-catching corps. 2023 first-round G Peter Skoronski and 2024 first-round RT J.C. Latham are ascending talents. The Titans poached reliable G Kevin Zeitler from the Lions in free agency. And they’re hoping former Steeler Dan Moore can hold down the LT spot.

Coaching & Offensive Scheme

Brian Callahan returns for his second season as Titans HC. The year one results were ugly, with Tennessee ranking 26th or worse in points, total yards, and passing yards. But Callahan never had much of a chance with a QB room of Will Levis and Mason Rudolph.

His results as Bengals OC from 2019 through 2023 were better. Cincinnati ranked top-16 in points in Callahan’s final three seasons, including seventh-place finishes in 2021 and 2022.

Callahan deployed a pass-leaning offense in Cincinnati, with four of his five teams registering a pass rate north of 60%. The Titans, by comparison, threw on just 56.4% of their offensive snaps last year.

Callahan’s Bengals tenure included QB Joe Burrow’s 2020 rookie season. Burrow missed the final six games of that year with a knee injury. But the Bengals registered a 63.8% pass rate and 63.3% neutral pass rate in Burrow’s 10 games. Those were both top-three marks in the league.

Burrow was a better prospect than Ward. And that 2020 Bengals team had WRs A.J. Green, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd. So we’re not expecting Callahan to go as pass-heavy this year with the Titans. But he’s clearly not afraid to let a rookie QB chuck it.

Production & Efficiency Trends

Only seven rookie QBs have finished top-12 at the position in fantasy points per game as rookies over the last 10 seasons.

• Dak Prescott
• Deshaun Watson
• Kyler Murray
• Justin Herbert
• C.J. Stroud
• Jayden Daniels
• Bo Nix

Four of those QBs topped 25 rushing yards per game. Ward will likely need to hit that mark if he has a chance at QB1-level production in 2025. We currently project him for 17.4 rushing yards per game.