NFL Scout Unsure If Cam Ward’s Need ‘for Reckless Plays… Can Be Coached Out of Him’

Joseph Zucker@@JosephZuckerFeatured Columnist IVNovember 26, 2024

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Cam Ward is widely considered to be one of the best quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL draft class, but one AFC scout is concerned he may possess a fatal flaw.

“He has times where he has to scratch his itch for reckless plays, and it leaves you asking, ‘What the heck was he thinking there?'” the scout said to ESPN’s Jordan Reid. “I like him and don’t know if that can be coached out of him.”

Ward has thrown for 3,774 yards and an FBS-best 34 touchdowns with Miami sitting at 10-1. He probably deserves more credit than any other player for the Hurricanes being a College Football Playoff contender.

To the scout’s point, however, the senior signal-caller has been prone to making some puzzling decisions in the pocket.

No game sums up the Cam Ward experience better than Miami’s 39-38 win over Cal on Oct. 5.

The Hurricanes trailed 35-10 midway through the third quarter and Ward had a hand in creating that sizable deficit. On Miami’s first play of the second half, he committed the cardinal sin of throwing against his body into the middle of the field, and it resulted in an ugly pick-six.

ACC Football @ACCFootballJUST ANOTHER NOHL WILLIAMS PICK SIX ‼️

📺 @espn x @CalFootball pic.twitter.com/u5CkyNex8j

But Ward caught fire in the fourth quarter and helped Miami score 21 unanswered points to complete its comeback. His five-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Arroyo was the decisive moment.

The trouble with a prospect such as Ward is that there’s an eternal push and pull. He’s so good in part because he’s instinctual and isn’t afraid of taking chances, but that kind of approach is bound to backfire at times.

Matt Hinton @MattRHintonCam Ward has got the Jameis Winston “this guy is incredible/what the hell is he doing” gene in abundance

Caleb Williams had a similar propensity to extend plays at USC, and it didn’t take long for him to discover that’s not gonna fly in the NFL.

Houston Texans @HoustonTexansLOCKSMITH ON LOCK 🔐

📺: @SNFonNBC pic.twitter.com/ac2b2Vprzu

With Ward, the upside is so high that he warrants being the first or second quarterback off the board this spring. He’s narrowly ahead of Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders for the title of QB1 on Bleacher Report’s big board.

But it’s not hard to see why Ward would eventually fall short of expectations at the next level.