Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward are the top quarterback prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft. But before Tennessee Titans fans start penciling one of those QBs into their mock drafts, they need to remember that just because they are the top prospects in this class, doesn't mean they are great options for the franchise.
The Titans are less than a week away from knowing where they'll pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, but we already know they are locked into a top-seven selection. A loss to the Houston Texans in Week 18 would guarantee general manager Ran Carthon a top two pick. The biggest question will be whether or not the Titans should replace Will Levis and Mason Rudolph with either Ward or Sanders.
Most draft analysts believe this is a lackluster draft class, which is why it is concerning that Sanders and Ward usually struggle to crack the top 10 on most big boards. Marcus Mosher does a terrific job keeping up with the consensus by major entities in the draft community and as of December 30, Ward and Sanders were the 14th and 16th ranked prospect, respectively.
Updated 2025 expert consensus board. 12/26 pic.twitter.com/ihfZZKyZNG
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) December 26, 2024
QB-needy teams are going to draft Ward and Sanders. They'll feel they're outsmarting everyone else when it comes to evaluating quarterbacks. Are the Titans positioned to take that chance? Assuming that the consensus is correct and these prospects have a ceiling of being above average at best, the question becomes whether the Titans are a mediocre quarterback away from being postseason contenders.
With blue-chip prospects like Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter, who play premium positions of need, wouldn't the Titans be in a better position by taking one of them and building a great supporting cast for a quarterback with more upside? Patience should be exercised.
The Titans can survive on bridge quarterbacks for a year or two until they get a chance to take a big swing on someone they believe in, like an Arch Manning, Nico Iamaleava, Garrett Nussmeier, or Drew Allar. When they do identify that long-term option, they need to put him in a better position than they have done with past quarterbacks.
Said quarterback should step into an offense with an experienced and talented offensive line, and dynamic weapons to get the ball to. The best way to do that isn't to push all their chips in the middle of the table now and hope that Sanders and Ward end up becoming stars out of sheer hope.