Cam Ward: 'If you don't draft me, that's your fault'

Former Miami quarterback Cam Ward sent a clear message to those picking in the 2025 NFL Draft: you better pick him.

Ward knows it’s a 50-50 shot with every team. They’ll pick him or they won’t. It’s as simple as that.

Ward’s confidence is no secret and whoever picks him in April should celebrate while the other 31 franchises should fear the big armed signal caller.

“Okay, you’re either going to draft me or you’re not,” Ward told the Associated Press. “If you don’t draft me, that’s your fault. You’ve got to remember you’re the same team that’s got to play me for the rest of my career, and I’ll remember that.”

Ward faced a lot of controversy during Miami’s Pop-Tarts Bowl loss to Iowa State. He looked excellent, for a half. That’s it.

Whether it was Ward or head coach Mario Cristobal in the moment, they decided to sit their starting quarterback for the second half. However, it’s a decision Ward doesn’t regret, even today.

“I just think we all got what we needed out of it,” Ward said. “They seen things that they think they need to work on … for this season coming up. And they also knew, you know, what I had on the line. We feel like we’re doing what’s best for the program and myself. I mean, it was a hard decision, especially when, you know, some guys on our team didn’t play who I thought should have played. It was also, you know, those guys thought about their future the same way I thought about mine.”

Could Ward have instant success like recent rookie QBs CJ Stroud (2023) and Jayden Daniels (2024)? It’s possible. But he needs to be in the right situation.

Last season, Ward was a Heisman finalist and set career highs across the board. He had 4,3,13 yards, 39 touchdowns, seven interceptions and a 67.2% completion percentage.

Over the course of the last three years at Washington State and Miami, following a transfer from Incarnate Word, Ward had 11,281 yards, 87 touchdowns, 23 interceptions and a 66% completion percentage.

Ward is generally projected as the No. 1 QB in the draft over Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, but they’re neck and neck.

Ward is expected to go very early in the draft, whether that’s No. 1 or 3 or even later remains to be seen.

The NFL Draft is scheduled for April 24th to 26th in Green Bay.