ESPN insiders take firm stance on Cam Ward vs. Shedeur Sanders as QB1 in 2025 NFL Draft

Miami QB Cam Ward and Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders are considered the top two at the position and both could go No. 1 overall.

ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky and Mike Tannenbaum debated the top signal caller during Monday’s edition of Get Up, with Orlovsky firmly stating Ward is the guy over Sanders. If you’re the Tennessee Titans, take your new franchise quarterback from Miami.

Tannenbaum agreed and tacked on that Ward is far ahead of Sanders, or any quarterback for that matter, when it comes to selecting a QB in this class.

“Cam Ward’s number one, for me, it’s not all that close,” Orlovsky said. “I think he’s clearly the best quarterback in this class. Reminds me a lot of Baker Mayfield. I love how loose his arm is, but also how twitchy of an athlete is. He measured close to six-foot-two, makes me feel really good. And honestly, the stuff that he does within the pocket has me way more excited than the stuff that he does outside of the pocket. 

“A lot of the conversation around him, I felt, has been this unbelievable playmaker outside … and there is that, but in the pocket, when I see his eyes go bang, bang, and that ball comes out, and it’s so sudden, that reminds me of Baker Mayfield. So I think this is an easy thing for me. If I’m Tennessee, I’m not moving off number one, and I’m taking Cam Ward.”

Both Ward and Sanders were considered Heisman candidates this past season, which ended up being a two man race between winner Travis Hunter and runner-up Ashton Jeanty.

“Talking to a couple teams last night, over the last couple days, people just fell in love with Cam Ward,” Tannenbaum said. “The ones that talked to him, and the way his teammates talked about him in other interviews, everything Dan said, and then you throw in the intangibles … take nothing away from anybody else. 

“I think there’s a massive line from Cam Ward to anybody: Shedeur Sanders, Jaxson Dart. And the other thing I would just say about him as a player: 74 plays with 20 yards or more, that talks about his ability and the explosiveness. So when you want to talk about the ceiling, the ceiling is really high for him.”

Last season, Ward threw for 4,313 yards, 39 touchdowns, seven interceptions and a 67.2% completion percentage while Sanders threw for 4,134 yards, 37 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a 74% completion percentage.