After an abysmal season, the Tennessee Titans landed the No. 1 pick in the 2025 Draft, and used it on quarterback Cam Ward. Anytime a team takes a player first overall, especially a quarterback, the expectation is transformative change. While teams typically preach patience, everyone wants that change to come sooner rather than later.
The Titans won just three games last season, so it’ll be a lot to ask them to jump to contender status. However, one expert does believe Ward will spark a turnaround in the organization starting in 2025. In a recent ESPN piece, NFL analyst Matt Bowen ranked the 50 most-impactful moves of the offseason, including trades, free agency signings, and draft picks.
Of every move made throughout the league this offseason, Bowen argued that Tennessee drafting Ward was the second-most impactful move, trailing only Davante Adams signing with the Los Angeles Rams.
Titans’ selection of Cam Ward named second-most impactful move of NFL offseason
Bowen praised Ward’s abilities, reflecting on his final college season last year with Miami. The analyst believes those abilities will help the rookie quarterback quickly get going with Tennessee’s veterans.
"The No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft, Ward has the playmaking traits to make an immediate impact as a rookie. He had 4,313 passing yards and 39 touchdowns at Miami last season, showing his ability to operate as an accurate thrower to all levels of the field and also create outside of structure.Matt Bowen (ESPN)
In Tennessee, Ward will have two experienced targets in Calvin Ridley and Tyler Lockett. Plus, the team added upgrades on the offensive line to protect their young QB (more on that later)."
The Titans do have a nice mix of veterans and young guys in the pass catching group, and they also added to the offensive line. Regardless of how good a rookie quarterback is, both groups need to support young quarterbacks— all quarterbacks really. If Tennessee can do that, and Ward is as advertised, the Titans will significantly improve on their three wins from last season.