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Tennessee Titans process can only lead to Cam Ward being the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft
Apr 8, 2025
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0:00
The Tennessee Titans are going to draft Cam Ward with the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft
0:07
With less than a month until draft day, that's the consensus expectation
0:11
In the past three weeks, it's something I've implied, assumed, and alluded to many times
0:16
So let me put it plainly. The plan is Cam. After the combine in February, it was a lean
0:22
After Ward's 30 visit one week later, it was an expectation. After free agency
0:27
it felt like a lock. And now his pro day, private workout, and the owners meetings have done well
0:33
to erase any remaining doubts. Now, I'm not somebody who likes to speak in absolutes. In the
0:38
NFL, even the most concrete plans can change overnight. There's still a scenario in which a
0:43
dramatic and fundamental change occurs before the Titans turn in their card. Something along the
0:49
lines of a team proposing a record-shattering trade that was never on the table before
0:54
or something somehow showing up in Ward's medical or personal background that changes the picture
0:59
entirely. In other words, things that are extremely unlikely to happen. Now, there are plenty of
1:05
reasons, both public and private, for why I'm confident Cam Ward will be a Titan. But this
1:10
situation lays out how thorough the Titans process has been in landing their franchise quarterback
1:19
If you're part of the Tennessee Faithful, you know just how many years the Titans have shaved
1:23
off your life with the emotional roller coaster of sports or maybe the roller coaster of life is
1:28
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1:32
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2:27
There's still a lot of people, both online and in daily life, who ask me, is Cam the pick
2:32
Is he still the pick after this new report? How confident are you that Cam is the pick
2:36
And I do not blame those people. They're well-adjusted adults with far more important things to do than pay attention to every single little shred of the draft news cycle
2:45
And the messaging from our biggest news sources is still intentionally vague
2:49
Just yesterday, I got an ESPN notification that read, Titans Undecided at number one
2:54
The biggest insiders in NFL media have gone on television practically every day preaching the fact that the Titans simply aren't there yet on a decision and that they remain open for business at number one overall
3:06
And the media availability that Mike Borgonzi, Brian Callahan and Chad Brinker have done in recent days has maintained a disciplined set of talking points that echo this sentiment
3:15
We're still working on it and we still have it narrowed down to five options
3:19
Ward, Sanders, Carter, Hunter or a trade. So why should we already be so confident that it's going to be Ward
3:26
If you've ever watched a medical drama on TV, you might have heard a doctor repeat the line
3:31
when you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras. In other words, when diagnosing a situation, apply Occam's razor
3:37
The simplest explanation is usually the correct one. Consider this simple reality
3:42
Everything the Titans have done this offseason makes perfect sense for an eventual selection of Ward
3:47
If he's not the pick, everything suddenly makes a lot less sense
3:51
Look at free agency where the emphasis was on reinforcing and completing the
3:55
offensive line. The Titans pre free agency interest in certain quarterback markets
3:59
such as Sam Darnold's was reported on by yours truly. But after the combine
4:04
when deals were actually struck they were never linked to any of the real bidding The pair of uninspiring quarterback moves they did make paints a picture of setting up a quarterback room in a familiar ideal way to insert a rookie star
4:18
That rookie, by the way, is somebody they've gone out of their way to have as many touch
4:21
points as possible with. A combine formal meeting, the first 30 visit on his calendar, his pro day, a private workout
4:28
later that same week, and some additional Zoom sessions in the near future
4:32
Nobody else in this draft class has received that level of attention from them. As we originally here at A to Z sports shared last week
4:39
even Shadir Sanders and Travis Hunter aren't getting that maximum level of
4:43
attention at their pro day coming up. Neither Brian Callahan nor Chad Brinker are going to make that trip
4:48
Now consider who did make the trip down to Miami to see him. Practically everybody employed by the organization
4:54
The list of public attendees at the pro day was lengthy. The entire front office leadership, head coach, offensive coordinator
5:00
quarterback coach, in-house media, and the video team all went down for it
5:05
Then for his private workout, every team official returned with one very notable addition
5:11
controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk. She went down to meet the player she plans to soon root on as the face of the franchise
5:18
NFL owners don't typically make a habit of meeting with prospects ahead of the draft
5:22
unless they expect to take them. Her trip and introduction to Cam went very well
5:26
Consider the behavior of the teams who could possibly come up to take Ward at one
5:30
The Giants signed both Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston within the past two weeks
5:34
Their GM Joe Shane was reportedly speaking like a man who would be drafting a non-quarterback on day one at the owners meetings
5:41
Meanwhile, the Browns have been spending time with Abdul Carter and head coach Kevin Stefanski said at the owners meetings that they are unlikely to trade up for Ward
5:50
And finally, consider the talking points of the Titans staff themselves this past week at the owners meetings
5:55
talk of being open for business has largely subsided suddenly replaced by we're close and
6:01
we're going to come to a decision in about two weeks they've even said things like there isn't
6:05
a price you put on a franchise quarterback in the draft they're getting awfully close to full-on
6:10
winking and nodding there but that raises a new question if their plan is already to pick ward what with the song and dance Why not just come out and say it This question was asked explicitly of Brian Callahan at the owners meetings and what he said boils down to trusting their process
6:26
When the Titans set out on their draft evaluation process this offseason, it was a clear three-stage plan
6:32
Here it is in its simplest extrapolated form. First, they're going to watch three games of every player in the draft before the combine
6:40
And by every player, I mean like all 400 draftable guys. They'll set the board vertically, and then they'll do combine meetings and some 30 visits
6:47
They'll make initial free agency moves. Then they'll go back into the film room to watch three more games of every single player, adjusting the board accordingly
6:54
They do 30 visits. They attend pro days. They do private workouts. They round out some more free agency signings. And then finally, this month, the beginning of April, they'll go back into the film room and watch three more games of every single player, this time setting the board horizontally
7:10
That entire process wraps up about two weeks before the draft. The film circuit is finished, every report is finalized, and every critical pro day is attended
7:20
The board is set. Then, that's when every department on both the coaching and front office side come together for their final draft game plan meetings
7:28
Put another way, that's when they'll start actually using Cam's name around the building instead of winks, nods, and knowing looks
7:34
There's one final reason why all of this funny little circus goes on, and that's to appease the shield
7:39
The league office is interested in doing what's best for one thing, the bottom line
7:43
And the bottom line during draft season is driven by intrigue, which culminates in their big $100 million television show in late April
7:51
The Titans are not an organization that's interested in bucking what the league office wants
7:55
They want to be good soldiers. And in this case, that means not spoiling the beginning of the show
8:00
There are countless TV segments and articles left to write between now and draft day
8:04
and it's better if they can be done under the condition of uncertainty as long as reasonably
8:08
can be maintained so they'll do their part to maintain it but when draft day does come around
8:13
the pick is going to be cam ward and it won't come as a shock to anybody because he's the right
8:18
pick to make for adz sports nashville i'm easton freeze
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