“Is That Enough to Lift You Over Joe Burrow?”: Titans Analyst Gives Cam Ward a Reality Check on AFC Matchups

Cam Ward can’t officially become the Tennessee Titans’ franchise quarterback until the 2025 NFL Draft. But at this point, next Thursday’s draft announcement appears to be a formality. Ward recently declared Calvin Ridley and Tony Pollard – Tennessee’s top wideout and starting running back – as the “best in the NFL” at their respective positions.

Nobody will dispute that Ridley and Pollard are quality players. But only their biggest fanboys, or the most biased of Titans fans, would say they’re second to none. With Ward all but confirming he’s headed to Nashville, Tennessee’s fan base is now analyzing how he could eventually compare to the league’s top signal-callers.

One Reddit user, Frequent-Ad3285, asked Titans fans how they’d feel if Ward became a “good” quarterback. The poster expounded by offering the following classification:

“He’s not elite, he’s certainly not bad, but he is basically a guy like Baker [Mayfield], maybe even Tua [Tagovailoa] on the low end and [Jalen] Hurts on the high end of this tier. Would this be a disappointment because he, in fact, is the number 1 pick in the draft? Or would you be okay with it just because we finally have some stability at the QB position?”

Brad Steele, host of the Two Tone Talk podcast, pondered the question on YouTube. He said he understands where the user is coming from since Hurts just won the Super Bowl.

However, he believes the path through the AFC to that stage is way tougher than it is in the NFC. As a result, Steele thinks Ward has to be a higher-caliber player for Tennessee to win a championship.

“Jalen Hurts, you would not say [he] is as good as Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson or Joe Burrow… that’s where the challenge comes in. So if Cam Ward comes in, and he is at the level of a Baker Mayfield – or, at most, a Jalen Hurts… it may not have the same effect… in the AFC. Is that good enough to lift you over [Joe] Burrow, Mahomes, Lamar Jackson [and/or] Josh Allen?” 

Claiming any quarterback can get to the level of those ‘Big Four’ would be bold. Multiple analysts, though, have stuck their necks out by saying Ward could reach such heights. They think Ward’s raw abilities are on par with some of the best to ever do it.

For Ward to actually make good on his potential, the Titans’ staff, led by head coach Brian Callahan, must help him minimize the negative aspects of his play. They also must help him strengthen the traits that make him special. Their pairing should become official when the 2025 NFL Draft commences on Apr. 24.