Mel Kiper Jr. predicts Cam Ward will be No. 1 pick over Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter

Mel Kiper Jr. has dropped his debut 2025 NFL Mock Draft, and the debate is raging as to which star athlete will end up being picked first overall by the Tennessee Titans.

The likely options at the moment are Miami quarterback Cam Ward, two-way star and reigning Heisman winner Travis Hunter out of Colorado, and his Buffaloes teammate in signal-caller Shedeur Sanders. At the moment, Kiper is predicting Ward will go first overall to Tennessee, even if Sanders is rated higher by the ESPN analyst.

“At No. 1, Tennessee — I’m going Cam Ward,” Kiper stated, via Get Up. “Not because he’s my highest-rated quarterback, Shedeur Sanders is my QB1.

“My friends in the NFL are saying, ‘Hey, the live arm. The mobility. The completion percentage with three different programs.’ Not going to throw a lot of interceptions, but a little carless, a little reckless with the football, in terms of ball security, at times. Cleaned that up a little this year. Certainly, Cam Ward makes sense at pick No. 1 for Tennessee.”

Even if Kiper prefers Sanders to Ward, there’s still a bevy of reasons why the Hurricanes quarterback makes sense at the top of the draft, and even the ESPN analyst admitted to some of the strengths Ward possesses that Sanders does not.

“I think it’s the arm strength — the superior arm strength with Cam Ward,” Kiper added. “He can make all the throws. All those different arm angles that he throws from. Shedeur is old school. He’s a traditional pocket passer. I love Sheduer. But I think the arm strength, and those angles, and the mobility — he can beat you with his legs. He can do that. Now, Shedeur can roll right, roll left and make accurate throws. But the ability to run — [Ward] had 17 rushing touchdowns over the past three years. Remember, he did it at Incarnate Ward. Did it at Washington State. Did it at Miami.

“I just think arm strength and mobility, when I talk to my friends in the NFL, may give him a slight edge in terms of where he goes in the draft. I’m going to stick with Sheduer. I love old school. The way [Tom] Brady did his work in the NFL for a number of years, that’s what I think Sheduer does.”

Time will tell if the NFL believes in Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders more as the top option in the 2025 NFL Draft, but Mel Kiper Jr. has made his opinion known. Perhaps it’ll change with the NFL Combine and other pre-draft events, but this is where the ESPN analyst stands at the moment.