The past four seasons have been brutal for Tennessee Titans fans, and if they are going to dig themselves out of this pit, then things have to start with the development of rookie quarterback Cam Ward.
In a world where quarterbacks like C.J. Stroud and Jayden Daniels had massive rookie seasons, it can be discouraging to look at Ward's stats this year. However, it is important to remember that both of those quarterbacks followed up their rookie seasons with massively disappointing sophomore slumps. Meanwhile, quarterbacks like Drake Maye and Caleb Williams had relatively disappointing rookie years before having impressive sophomore campaigns.
However, there are levels to these evaluations. Some rookie quarterbacks had such a bad statistical season that their future failures should have been obvious. When you analyze this list, you don't want to see Ward's name next to Justin Fields, Kenny Pickett, Bryce Young, or Zach Wilson. That should leave every Titans fan questioning where Ward ranks among his peers in key statistical categories.
Cam Ward is becoming the QB Titans fans hoped for
Using Stathead to compile the data, Ward is on pace for: 59.3% completion percentage, 3,203 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. Taking a deeper dive into those numbers, here are three key stats and where Ward compares to other rookie quarterbacks drafted in the first round since 2020.
2.3% touchdown percentage: 13th of 17
Ward isn't doing a great job getting the ball in the end zone. Nearly all of the rookies on this list struggled with a lack of weapons and poor coaching, so that isn't an excuse that works here, but that doesn't mean that there shouldn't be context or optimism that things can improve.
Early in the season, drives stalled out because Ward took unnecessary sacks and spent too much time looking for the homerun ball. Over the first nine games of the season, Ward only had five touchdowns, but then the bye week happened, and he had a chance to take a breath and get his feet back under him. Since that bye week, the No. 1 overall selection has six passing touchdowns in five games, and his touchdown percentage has been 3.4%, which would have put him ahead of Joe Burrow.
1.5% interception percentage: 4th of 17
It is hard to believe that Ward is this good at keeping the ball out of harm's way as a rookie, but he has limited the negative plays even in his bad games. This is another stat that has improved since the bye week (he had six of his seven interceptions before the bye), so again, this is more good news for Ward's chances to continue protecting the football in the future.
188.4 yards per game: 9th of 17
Ward was right in the middle of the pack here with Trevor Lawrence, Jayden Daniels, and Caleb Williams as the three quarterbacks in front of him, but he was ahead of Pickett, Tua Tagovailoa, and Young.
This is one stat that I think has more to do with surrounding talent and coaching than it does with Ward's potential. However, there have been enough big plays down the field that he has missed that it feels fair to focus on this as an area where he focus on as something that he needs to do better at while also admitting that the team just needs to put more help around him.