ESPN highlights the Brian Daboll effect that could transform Cam Ward’s 2nd Titans season and Ben Solak nailed it
Cam Ward’s second year leap as Tennessee Titans QB could look familiar to NFL viewers if Ben Solak of ESPN is right about Brian Daboll.
ESPN’s Ben Solak has been on fire with his Tennessee Titans analysis this offseason, from nailing tight end Gunnar Helm as his breakout performer selection to now breaking down how second-year quarterbacks can improve as NFL training camps officially get underway.
Solak went through all four rookies from a year ago who earned significant starting time: Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart, Tyler Shough, and Shedeur Sanders.
The two areas Solak identified for Ward’s improvement are running and arm arrogance, and both carry real weight for Tennessee’s 2026 outlook.
“Arm arrogance” is nothing new for Cam Ward
Arm arrogance has been a talking point around Ward for a while now. It’s Cam Ward knowing he has the talent and the arm ability to put the football where he wants it, when he wants it (for the most part).
That confidence sometimes allows him to skip the on-time throw for an attempt at a higher-difficulty pass to his intended target when a simpler completion was available. The whole thing with Ward is he needs to take his layups instead of trying to work on the high-difficulty throws just because he knows he can make them.
He absolutely can. That doesn’t mean he should do it every time. In fact, I saw him put this into action during Saturday’s training camp practice during team drills. Instead of forcing a potential highlight deep ball to Carnell Tate, Ward took the layup, as I explained below.
The Brian Daboll running effect on his quarterbacks
The running piece is where Solak’s analysis gets fascinating and where Brian Daboll’s fingerprints show up across his coaching history.
Everyone knows Josh Allen’s emergence as an MVP candidate was improved by Daboll, but Allen was already a runner in Buffalo, so there was no massive philosophical shift required.
The two quarterbacks Solak really points to are Daniel Jones with the Giants and Jaxson Dart’s rookie season.
“When Daboll took charge in New York, he asked Jones to carry the ball more,” Solak wrote. “Jones went from 1.8 designed rushes per game in the three years before Daboll to 3.7 per game in the three years after Daboll was hired. Daboll also clearly encouraged Jones to use his legs as an outlet in the dropback game, as Jones scrambled on 4.9% of his dropbacks pre-Daboll and 7.5% of his dropbacks in the Daboll era.”
That’s a massive jump. Almost two full additional design runs per game, plus over 2.5% more scrambles on dropbacks. Those are significant numbers, and they paint a clear picture of what Daboll asks from his signal callers.
Then there’s Dart, who Daboll coached last season with the Giants before getting fired.
“While there’s no pre-Daboll comparison, Dart was third among all quarterbacks in designed runs per game (2.9) and fourth in scramble rate (9.2%) in 2025. We can say with confidence that Daboll wanted him to run.”
In my opinion, Dart was running so much in his rookie year because he was further behind in passing development than Ward was. Cam Ward was the No. 1 pick. Dart was the 26th pick. The NFL clearly thought highly of Dart, but not where they thought of Ward, who was more of a ready thrower at the NFL level. For the Giants to be productive on offense, Dart running the ball (recklessly, I would add) was an effective way to create first downs and score points because he wasn’t as consistent in the passing game.
(Noting that Solak’s “where could Jaxson Dart get better” header had one word: consistency.)
What Daboll’s system means for Cam Ward’s floor in year 2
So where does Daboll come in for Ward specifically?
“When Daboll uses Ward as a runner, he will immediately raise the floor of the QB’s play. Ward was reluctant to cross the line of scrimmage last season; his 3.7% scramble rate was well below the league average (5.4%), falling among pocket passers like Geno Smith, Joe Burrow and Jacoby Brissett. Ward is no Lamar Jackson, but he’s a stout 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, so he can shed contact well.”
That’s true. Ward did not scramble to run last year. He scrambled to throw, which is where the real problem showed up.
“Ward had 88 dropbacks with a time to throw over 4.0 seconds, second to only Caleb Williams. Dropbacks this long are almost universally scramble-drill throws, and they did not serve the Titans well at all. Nobody actually opened up downfield, and Ward had only five completions of over 20 yards on all those snaps. He lost a whopping 107.3 expected points on those 88 dropbacks, second to only 2023 Bryce Young this decade for the most lost value on extended dropbacks in a single season.”
Those are some pretty wild numbers. Too many times, Ward held the ball past 4 seconds and pushed a high-difficulty throw instead of tucking the ball and taking what the defense gave him. Sometimes it paid off, but only 5 of those 88 dropbacks created explosive plays over 20 yards. That’s just not good efficiency.
Better weapons should help, too
Solak also noted something worth remembering: we don’t know how many of those 88 extended dropbacks ended in incomplete passes because of limited receiver talent. Tennessee has a better receiving group this year with Tate and Wan’Dale Robinson joining the roster, Calvin Ridley healthy for now, and Chimere Dike and Elic Ayomanor poised for big improvements now that they’ll be operating as wide receiver three, four, or five instead of being asked to fill a top role too early.
I agree with Solak here. Ward can be better by taking what the defense gives him, living to play another down, and keeping the Titans ahead of the sticks. Daboll likes his quarterbacks to run, and Ward is the least prolific runner among the QBs Daboll has worked with in the NFL in quite some time.
The Daniel Jones comparison feels like a quality measuring stick. If Daboll can squeeze even a fraction of that design-run and scramble-rate increase out of Ward, the Titans’ offense can take a real step forward this year.