Former Heisman winner believes “Cam Ward is more talented than Shedeur Sanders” as he assesses the 2 ahead of 2025 NFL draft

Colorado's Shedeur Sanders and Miami's Cam Ward are among the most talked-about quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL draft. Many mock drafts project the two to be in the top three picks this year. While both quarterbacks possess qualities that make them distinct, there's an ongoing comparison between them and a debate on who's the better player and who should go higher in April's draft.

During Friday's episode of "NFL on ESPN," former Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton and analyst Stephen A. Smith chose between the two quarterbacks.

"Cam Ward, talent-wise, I do think Ward is more talented than Shedeur," Newton said, "but if Shedeur, that's not something to shun away from, I wouldn't want to go to Nashville. If I was Shedeur, I would want to go to the Giants."

While Newton picked Cam Ward to be a better player, he shared why he still thinks Shedeur is a better fit for the New York Giants and vice versa.

"It's a perfect fit. It's a perfect fit, that aura," Newton said (2:22). "Now, the thing that I do love about Shedeur is his ability to not be wavered by, hey, he's this. Hey, you've been, you know, whatever you want to say about him, his aura is engulfing that can be intimidating.

"And when you think about all the teams in the league. There's a certain amount of teams, a handful of teams that will embody that and say hey, we're I can see everybody in New York doing this." Newton said while showcasing Shedeur's signature watch gesture.

Stephen A. Smith shares his pick between Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward

Just like Cam Newton, Smith also chose the Miami quarterback and explained his reasons for picking Ward over Hall of Famer Deion Sanders' son.

Smith explained that Ward has completed 67% of his passes, 4,313 yards, FBS-best 39 touchdowns, just seven interceptions and played five years in college.

"In that time span, 4-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio,” Smith said on 'NFL on ESPN' (5:26). "We can’t ignore that. So, he has size, he has arm strength, he has all of those different things."

The ESPN host also had the same opinion on his "First Take" show on Friday: