Miami Hurricanes QB Cam Ward gets a suddenly unenviable prize in national outlet's latest mock draft
Being the #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft is something that just about every college football player dreams of, although very, very few have a realistic chance of ever achieving that. Cam Ward is in that discussion in the midst of a dream season for the Miami Hurricanes. The prolific QB is a legitimate […]
Being the #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft is something that just about every college football player dreams of, although very, very few have a realistic chance of ever achieving that.
Cam Ward is in that discussion in the midst of a dream season for the Miami Hurricanes. The prolific QB is a legitimate Heisman frontrunner this year with 2746 passing yards with 24 touchdowns and 5 interceptions in 8 games. His highlight reel is replete with NFL throws.
As such, Pro Football Focus made Ward their top player taken in their mock draft released on Tuesday. The problem, for Ward, is where he's projected to go – the Carolina Panthers.
PFF had the following to say about the pick:
The Panthers may again be in the market for a franchise quarterback this offseason, especially if they end up with the No. 1 pick for a second straight year (or a third, counting their trade up to No. 1 in 2023).
Ward isn’t perfect, but he has earned an elite PFF passing grade this season and is grading very well under pressure, in third-and-long situations and on intermediate throws over the middle of the field — all key indicators of NFL readiness.
Carolina is an absolute hot mess right now, sitting at an NFL-worst 1-7. The Panthers took a quarterback with the top spot overall last year, trading up and taking Alabama's Bryce Young. That decision proved ruinous so far. Young has struggled massively, getting benched in favor of Andy Dalton this season. Meanwhile, C.J. Stroud, who the Panthers could have taken, has flourished as one of the best young QBs in the game i Houston.
The Panthers' problems sink deeper than roster issues, going all the way to owner David Tepper, who's fired three coaches already (Ron Rivera, Matt Rhule, and Frank Reich) since taking over the franchise in 2018. Tepper has meddled more than most owners, and that's resulted in a 31-70 record during his time as owner.
That's not a position that any young football player should want to be in, particularly a quarterback. Ward, with his athleticism, arm talent, and fearlessness, could thrive quickly in the right situation and with the right talent around him.
However, Carolina is one of the teams that would potentially chew him up and spit him out like most other talented players that've come through there over the last six years.
Ward surely would like to go #1, just like every player would. The pay slot is higher. The prestige is high. But there's one franchise that no one should want to go to right now, and it's located in Charlotte.
Ward is out of eligibility, so he's going where he's going in the draft in April. However, if he's hoping to go #1, he probably is also hoping that the Carolina Panthers find a way to win some football games the rest of the season and drop in the draft order.
Miami’s Cam Ward falls behind another quarterback in latest Heisman Trophy odds
The oddsmakers apparently weren’t big fans of Ward’s showing in Miami’s win over FSU
