Fans Hyped Up for New Rivalry After Travis Hunter’s “Cold Blooded” Response to Cam Ward Goes Viral

Heading into the Heisman Trophy ceremony this past December, most expected Colorado’s Travis Hunter to take it home. But Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty and Miami’s Cam Ward must have had a sliver of hope that it could be them. Ward ended up finishing way down in fourth in the voting, but he got back at Hunter at the draft.

There, it was Ward who was taken with the No. 1 overall pick by the Tennessee Titans. The Jacksonville Jaguars then traded up with the Cleveland Browns to snag Travis Hunter No. 2 overall.

A massive realization seemed to go over the heads of many NFL fans: the top two picks were drafted by division rivals. Nashville and Jacksonville are just a 1.5-hour flight apart, and both teams compete in the AFC South. That means they’ll face off twice a year, every year.

At this year’s annual Rookie Premiere event, where the league brings together its corporate partners and that year’s highest-profile draftees, Ward and Hunter were filmed chatting, as they tried on their gameday jerseys for the first time, along with the other top draft names. That led to a little good-hearted ribbing and trash talk as the two got ready.

“I would hate to be a Jacksonville Jaguar,” Ward cheekily said, taking a dig at Hunter. “We ain’t want you,” he replied.

“They say they’re tryna get rid of you already. You know they don’t like quarterbacks, they only got you ’cause they had to. (Laughs)’,” Ward continued.

In a league where classic rivalries haven’t lived up to expectations and new ones have yet to take hold, the rising tension between Ward and Hunter—and by extension, the Titans and Jaguars—is just what the doctor ordered. Division rivals, drafted No. 1 and No. 2 overall, the elements for a true rivalry are all there.

Hunter and Ward have all the ingredients for a classic rivalry

In other player rivalries, such as Manning-Brady, the players never actually faced off on the field. But the fact that Travis Hunter will be attempting to play both ways this season means that he will also get to go directly against Cam Ward when he’s playing CB in the Titans-Jaguars matchup. And that should add yet another layer to the beef.

That line Hunter said about how the Titans only drafted Ward because they had to really stood out to fans as well. “damn that was cold blooded,” said one, while another simply laughed while quoting the savage line, “‘They only got you cus they had to'”.

Another pointed out that the “rivalry is already heating up,” while another backed Hunter’s statement about the Titans not liking QBs: “I mean I’d hate to play for either of those teams tbh. But Travis telling Cam they don’t like quarterbacks that much is accurate.”

Hunter’s line about Ward and the Titans was a clever quip, but there is a level of truth to it, which is why so many reacted to it the way they did. Many believe that if Ward had come out last year, he would have been the fifth or even sixth QB taken. This year, most draft experts labelled him as the only surefire QB prospect in the class. That made Tennessee’s decision pretty easy, as Hunter joked.

Cam Ward and Travis Hunter, who not only fought for the Heisman but were also drafted right next to each other, have the chance to turn one of the NFL’s most snooze-inducing fixtures—Titans vs. Jaguars—into must-see TV if they can keep the fun trash talk going.