With the NFL Scouting Combine underway, anticipation for the 2025 NFL Draft is higher than ever. University of Miami QB Cam Ward knows his value and believes he can make an immediate impact, specifically for a team that has needed a boost for quite some time.
Cam Ward’s Message to the Struggling Jets Franchise
During an NFL Combine interview, Ward spoke about the New York Jets and offered a bold message to their management.
“Being able to talk with their head coach for the first time was exciting,” Ward said of Aaron Glenn. “I think the Jets are not too far off, maybe a couple pieces, I’m just hoping that I can be one of them.”
"I think the Jets are not too far off, maybe a couple pieces, and I'm just hoping that I can be one of them"
– Cam Ward pic.twitter.com/9LRVorYAys
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) February 28, 2025
Ward claims that, despite the recent struggles, the Jets’ solid WR core and powerful defense pose as attractive qualities for New York. The 6’2″ QB expressed that, of the few pieces missing, he hopes that he can fill the void of one.
Could Ward Falls to the Jets, or Will They Force Their Hand in Trade?
With the QB neediness for some of the top teams in the NFL Draft this year, the likelihood of Ward falling to the Jets seems to be incredibly improbable. Marco Enriquez’s most recent 2025 NFL mock draft on PFSN has Ward going No. 2 overall to the Cleveland Browns, a team in dire need of a QB.
Enriquez described why Cleveland picking Ward seems to benefit both him and the organization.
“The Browns may still be in quarterback hell with Deshaun Watson, but while they bleed out from those wounds, they can start their rebuild and look to the future in 2025. It is becoming increasingly likely that they’ll take their quarterback of the future in Cam Ward,” Enriquez said.
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“Ward has a lot of experience as a fifth-year player entering the draft. This experience has benefitted young quarterbacks as recently as this past year with Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix. Ward is two tiers below Daniels in my current prospect grading, but the potential is palpable. His mechanics are also sound — the real questions about him at the next level will be about his decision-making and accuracy.
“The Browns will need to surround him with high-IQ coaching and veterans, which they have not historically been capable of doing with their young signal callers.”
How Bad Do the Jets Truly Need Someone Like Ward?
Succeeding the Aaron Rodgers fiasco will no doubt pose as a tall task for Jets management. However, it is not impossible, and with offensive pieces to build around, maybe a strong QB is all they need.
The Jets’ offense and Rodgers finished in similar spots in PFSN’s Offense+ and QB+ rankings at 19th and 21st, respectively. However, the lack of vintage Rodgers performances may have been the reason for their offensive struggles as a whole, as described by PFSN’s Sterling Xie.
“The passing game finished 20th in EPA per dropback and 21st in success rate. In a vacuum, slightly below average isn’t too surprising for a unit with a 41-year-old quarterback coming off an Achilles tear. Of course, all the dysfunction that followed the Jets on a weekly basis made it feel worse than the numbers indicated.”
If the Jets are to get 20 years younger at QB, it will provide a new aura to a tragic locker room over the years. If this is to occur, though, trading up looks to be one of the only routes New York has.