Former Raiders GM breaks down Cam Ward's qualities and weakness ahead of 2025 NFL Draft

Miami's Cam Ward is in the conversation to be the first passer taken off the board, but there isn't a clear-cut No. 1 quarterback in this year's NFL Draft. A fearless passer, Ward doesn't come without his risks, according to former Las Vegas Raiders general manager Mike Mayock.

Part of what makes Ward so interesting can also be seen as his pitfall. Going deep frequently winds up being a roll of the dice more often than not.

"Cam Ward, I'm intrigued by because, atypically in college football — which is a lot of lateral throws and bubble screens and all the short (stuff) — this kid just wants to push it down the field as far as he can, as often as he can," Mayock said on an episode of "The Rich Eisen Show" posted Saturday on YouTube. "He buys time with his legs, he makes crazy kinds of throws."

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Mayock followed the praise with a knock on Ward. Ward threw for a nation-leading 39 touchdowns and had 4,313 passing yards during his lone season with the Hurricanes. He also had seven interceptions.

"Six of the interceptions that I saw were on him," Mayock said. "Like, he's gotta make better decisions, but that's what you get with a little bit of a gunslinger."

Former Raiders GM rates 2024 QB class higher than Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward-led 2025 class

Cam Ward holds a number of records, the most notable of which is the Division I high-water mark for touchdowns (178). He's also Miami's single-season leader in passing yards (4,313), passing scores (39), and completion percentage (67.2).

Ward joined former Hurricanes passers Vinny Testaverde (1986) and Gino Torretta (1992) as those in the program's history to bring home the vaunted Davey O'Brien Award. Ward was also a Heisman Trophy finalist and the first Miami player to earn the honor of ACC Player of the Year.

At the time he was named as the Davey O'Brien Award winner, Ward operated the most lethal attack in the country, which led all FBS programs in scoring offense (44.2 points per game), yards per play (7.6) and total offense (538.3 yards per game).

Still, Mayock told Eisen that if Cam Ward and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders would have been in last year's draft, that the two would have been competing to be the fifth signal-caller taken.

"I thought last year's quarterback class was special and different, and the first four guys, I would've had graded above both of them," Mayock said.

Quarterbacks taken in the first round last year included Caleb Williams (No. 1, Chicago), Jayden Daniels (No. 2, Washington), Drake Maye (No. 3, New England), Michael Penix (No. 8, Atlanta), J.J. McCarth (No. 10, Minnesota), and Bo Nix (No. 12, Denver).