Tell your friends (just not your leaguemates until next week)
by Lou Brunson
Every so often, this game we play reminds us as a fantasy community that not only should we be paying attention to rookie QBs, but we should be actively targeting them. 2024 was one such year, thanks to Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix and Caleb Williams. Can we expect the same output with the 2025 QB class headlined by Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders?
To explore this answer, we need to make one small assumption: Cam Ward will be drafted by the Tennessee Titans. We also need to acknowledge another immense reality: We have no idea where Shedeur Sanders will play.
Check out Richard Sickels’ Complete Guide to Fantasy Football Terms
QB Rookie Spotlight — Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders
Why the Titans for Cam Ward?
It’s a valid question, especially if you haven’t followed every tidbit of NFL Draft news the way we do here at Optimus Fantasy. As the predraft process has gone on, there have been more and more breadcrumbs to follow. Within the past week, both Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders have either cancelled visits to Tennessee themselves or the Titans have cancelled them. These are not the moves of a team with an interest in other prospects or trading down. If you were penciling in Cam Ward to the Titans before, it’s time to swap that for a pen.
Let’s examine Ward’s weapons in Tennessee, his competition for playing time, and his overall offensive philosophy. This will allow us to clearly see the picture that develops.
Ward’s Weapons
This is very much not pretty.
The Good: The RBs are very solid to good. Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears are both effective as runners and pluses in the receiving game. This will allow the offense to stay on the field more and allow Cam Ward to get those valuable counting stats. Ward also did a lot of his work in the short/check-down area at Miami, which is where the RBs will help.
Calvin Ridley at WR and Chigoziem Okonkwo at TE are also returning for the Titans. Despite flaws, both have already proven themselves on the NFL stage and should help Cam Ward showcase his dynamic arm.
The Bad: The WR corps beyond Ridley is somewhere between unproven and outright bad. WRs like Keenan Allen, Amari Cooper, and Robert Woods are all currently unsigned and would absolutely help the WR room, but at the same time, there’s also a reason we’re into mid-April and they still don’t have a team. As of right now, we have to hope the Titans bring in a rookie or two to grow alongside Ward and cross our fingers that James Proche and/or Van Jefferson can step into a larger and more effective role than either has at this point.
Speaking of the draft (read as: “The Bad, continued” ): While the Titans signed Dan Moore to help their OL at the tackle spot, it’s not like Moore was a bastion of strength in ’24 when he allowed 12 sacks — the most among NFL offensive linemen. So while the Titans had to improve on Nicholas Petit-Friere’s performance, this is a marginal upgrade at best. If the Titans are taking Ward first overall, it’s certainly possible they will try to protect their hopeful franchise QB. Especially given that their head coach, Brian Callahan, is the son of legendary OL coach Bill Callahan. It’s unlikely they can effectively address both WR and OL with only two Day 1 or 2 picks in the 2025 NFL draft. Not great, Bob!
Ward’s Competition for Playing Time
The picture is much rosier here. Although the boneheaded plays got fewer and farther between as the season went along, nothing about how Will Levis has played in his career thus far should make anyone think that Ward won’t be starting Week 1. The downside is that he’s not a finished product as a quarterback and would benefit from having some time to sit and learn before the Titans throw him into the fire.
Of course, I thought the same about Jayden Daniels, and look where that got him.
Titans’ Offensive Philosophy
I will examine two main years to glean what we can philosophically expect from the Titans in 2025. The first is Cincinnati’s 2020, when Joe Burrow was a rookie and Callahan was the OC, since it’s reasonable to think he’d approach another rookie going first overall in a similar fashion. The other is Tennessee’s 2024, Callahan’s first as a head coach, albeit with obviously subpar QB play.
In 2020, the Bengals’ offense threw the ball 578 times, good for 14th in the NFL that year. They also ran the ball 332 times, good for 21st in the NFL that year. In 2024, the Titans’ offense threw the ball 503 times, good for 22nd in the NFL that year. They also ran the ball 342 times, good for 17th in the NFL that year.
With a new, hopefully much better, QB in tow, it’s reasonable to expect the Titans to more closely resemble the ‘2020 Bengals’ splits between running and throwing, with potentially a slight lean more towards running the ball thanks to the strength of their RB room.
Put it All Together for Cam Ward
Considering that Cam Ward will likely start and play from Week 1 onwards, he should be able to be somewhat productive in 2025. Everything else about the situation screams “CAUTION!” though. Limited talent at receiving skill positions combined with sketchy OL play is a recipe for disaster — just ask rookie year Bryce Young.
Even with that warning, the Titans’ talent situation is nowhere near the level of the 2023 Panthers, so I’m not saying you should avoid him at all costs. But considering that he’s not a running QB any more than most 22-year-old QBs, he doesn’t have the high floor like Jayden Daniels, Caleb Williams, or Bo Nix did in 2024. If the Titans don’t also make significant additions at both WR and along the OL, treat Ward as a low-end QB2 (QB21-24 range) for 2025.
What is the deal with Shedeur Sanders?
Draftniks have publicized Shedeur Sanders’ projected slide down NFL draft boards pretty well. However, we are in April, and we know it as the “silly season” for a very good reason—everyone in the NFL is always lying. To this point, the media is connecting Sanders with several teams: the Saints, Steelers and Browns, just to name a few. We’ll look at each situation on a high level but focus more on how Shedeur’s skills will translate broadly.
Shedeur Sanders’ Skills
Sanders has enough arm talent and athleticism to function in the NFL, but neither are ‘plus’ tools for him. He will be best off as a distributor of the football a la Jared Goff rather than a weapon in the offense like a Lamar Jackson or even Bryce Young. Sanders demonstrates that he can make good decisions regarding where he throws the football — you don’t complete 74% of your passes in college without being able to do so. However, it’s impossible to watch his tape without seeing his pass-catchers making plenty of great plays to help bolster that number. Of course, that’s all part of it, but it’s an important part. An additional facet is that Sanders can be baited by DBs when trying to time intermediate and deep routes breaking toward the sideline. In the NFL, where athletes are better and their discipline is much greater than they are in the college game, this is an area Sanders will have to clean up.
Putting all this together, Shedeur will do best in the NFL if his team doesn’t just allow him to sit and learn but requires him to do so. Sanders’ ability to sit and learn the playbook, NFL speeds, and how to approach the game as a professional will be essential for him to thrive once he has the opportunity to start a couple of years down the road. If Sanders’ team thrusts him into a starting role immediately? Yikes.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Currently, the Steelers only have Mason Rudolph on the roster at QB. There’s still the chance that Aaron Rodgers could end up in Pittsburgh, so Shedeur could sit and develop the way he needs. That’s a relatively big “if,” though. Rudolph isn’t a good enough starter to keep Sanders on the bench unless the Steelers are very intentional about it. In fairness, Mike Tomlin may very well be that intentional, but we can’t assume it unless Rodgers is there.
The overall offensive scheme and personnel in Pittsburgh will fit Sanders pretty well. The Arthur Smith game plan emphasizes the running game, quick passes, and deep vertical shots down the field. Sanders can operate all three aspects well enough if called on to start. I don’t see him being a quarterback you would want to ever start in a 1QB league aside from massive injury and bye week issues—think 2024 Kirk Cousins—but sometimes that’s also the way it goes.
New Orleans Saints
“The Saints have an incumbent starter in place” — one Derek Carr.
This is what I had written, along with “That should be enough to buy Shedeur Sanders one year on the bench to grow at the very least.” Naturally, the same day I submit this, it comes out that Derek Carr likely needs shoulder surgery and his season is now in doubt. On top of Sanders potentially starting much sooner than he should be, he would remain with the Saints. And this franchise seems determined to dig the hole ever deeper into futility, rather than rebuild.
It’s a bit of a mystery what Kellen Moore’s offense will look like in New Orleans, thanks to an overall lack of talent. While Chris Olave and Alvin Kamara are both in the upper echelon at their respective positions, neither has a reasonable claim to being the best at their positions. Moore has most recently worked with players who can make that claim — Saquon Barkley, AJ Brown and CeeDee Lamb. This leaves some room to doubt that he’ll be able to recapture that magic with some solid but lesser talents.
The best-case scenario is that Carr can either avoid surgery on his shoulder altogether, or if he does need surgery, he’s ready for Week 1. If Carr’s injury forces Shedeur Sanders to start at all in 2025 for New Orleans, that likely means things have gone well off the rails for the team as a whole. Again. If Sanders ends up in New Orleans, leave him to other players to try and get anything out of him while you look elsewhere.
Cleveland Browns
Oh, Cleveland.
With Kenny Pickett and newly signed Joe Flacco in place in the QB room, this isn’t exactly a situation set up to allow Shedeur Sanders the time to sit and develop. Compounding this challenge is an owner who seems hell-bent on directing when players play, despite all logic pointing to the contrary. Further complicating things for the Browns as a Sanders landing spot is the overall state of the roster on offense. Cleveland’s OL, RB room, and pass-catching options all rate slightly subpar, at best.
Not everything is doom-and-gloom, however. We know Kevin Stefanski runs a very QB-friendly offensive scheme. So if Sanders does see the field early, there’s at least some reason to hope he could touch low-end QB2 numbers on a short-term, 1-4 game scale.
Make no mistake, this is a disaster situation for Sanders — an OL that has fallen on hard times and desperately needs a considerable infusion of talent, a pass-catching corps that is below average at the very best, and a QB room that’s uninspiring enough that it won’t preclude Cleveland from throwing Shedeur to the wolves before he’s ready. With the draft ahead and a few veteran WRs still unsigned, this can change between now and the season, of course. Just understand what you’re looking at for Shedeur Sanders going in. Let someone else chase Sanders if he winds up in Cleveland.
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Every so often, this game we play reminds us as a fantasy community that not only should we be paying attention to rookie QBs, but we should be actively targeting them. 2024 was one such year, thanks to Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix and Caleb Williams. Can we expect the same output with the 2025 QB class headlined by Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders?
To explore this answer, we need to make one small assumption: Cam Ward will be drafted by the Tennessee Titans. We also need to acknowledge another immense reality: We have no idea where Shedeur Sanders will play.
Check out Richard Sickels’ Complete Guide to Fantasy Football Terms
QB Rookie Spotlight — Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders
Why the Titans for Cam Ward?
It’s a valid question, especially if you haven’t followed every tidbit of NFL Draft news the way we do here at Optimus Fantasy. As the predraft process has gone on, there have been more and more breadcrumbs to follow. Within the past week, both Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders have either cancelled visits to Tennessee themselves or the Titans have cancelled them. These are not the moves of a team with an interest in other prospects or trading down. If you were penciling in Cam Ward to the Titans before, it’s time to swap that for a pen.
Let’s examine Ward’s weapons in Tennessee, his competition for playing time, and his overall offensive philosophy. This will allow us to clearly see the picture that develops.
Ward’s Weapons
This is very much not pretty.
The Good: The RBs are very solid to good. Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears are both effective as runners and pluses in the receiving game. This will allow the offense to stay on the field more and allow Cam Ward to get those valuable counting stats. Ward also did a lot of his work in the short/check-down area at Miami, which is where the RBs will help.
Calvin Ridley at WR and Chigoziem Okonkwo at TE are also returning for the Titans. Despite flaws, both have already proven themselves on the NFL stage and should help Cam Ward showcase his dynamic arm.
The Bad: The WR corps beyond Ridley is somewhere between unproven and outright bad. WRs like Keenan Allen, Amari Cooper, and Robert Woods are all currently unsigned and would absolutely help the WR room, but at the same time, there’s also a reason we’re into mid-April and they still don’t have a team. As of right now, we have to hope the Titans bring in a rookie or two to grow alongside Ward and cross our fingers that James Proche and/or Van Jefferson can step into a larger and more effective role than either has at this point.
Speaking of the draft (read as: “The Bad, continued” ): While the Titans signed Dan Moore to help their OL at the tackle spot, it’s not like Moore was a bastion of strength in ’24 when he allowed 12 sacks — the most among NFL offensive linemen. So while the Titans had to improve on Nicholas Petit-Friere’s performance, this is a marginal upgrade at best. If the Titans are taking Ward first overall, it’s certainly possible they will try to protect their hopeful franchise QB. Especially given that their head coach, Brian Callahan, is the son of legendary OL coach Bill Callahan. It’s unlikely they can effectively address both WR and OL with only two Day 1 or 2 picks in the 2025 NFL draft. Not great, Bob!
Ward’s Competition for Playing Time
The picture is much rosier here. Although the boneheaded plays got fewer and farther between as the season went along, nothing about how Will Levis has played in his career thus far should make anyone think that Ward won’t be starting Week 1. The downside is that he’s not a finished product as a quarterback and would benefit from having some time to sit and learn before the Titans throw him into the fire.
Of course, I thought the same about Jayden Daniels, and look where that got him.
Titans’ Offensive Philosophy
I will examine two main years to glean what we can philosophically expect from the Titans in 2025. The first is Cincinnati’s 2020, when Joe Burrow was a rookie and Callahan was the OC, since it’s reasonable to think he’d approach another rookie going first overall in a similar fashion. The other is Tennessee’s 2024, Callahan’s first as a head coach, albeit with obviously subpar QB play.
In 2020, the Bengals’ offense threw the ball 578 times, good for 14th in the NFL that year. They also ran the ball 332 times, good for 21st in the NFL that year. In 2024, the Titans’ offense threw the ball 503 times, good for 22nd in the NFL that year. They also ran the ball 342 times, good for 17th in the NFL that year.
With a new, hopefully much better, QB in tow, it’s reasonable to expect the Titans to more closely resemble the ‘2020 Bengals’ splits between running and throwing, with potentially a slight lean more towards running the ball thanks to the strength of their RB room.
Put it All Together for Cam Ward
Considering that Cam Ward will likely start and play from Week 1 onwards, he should be able to be somewhat productive in 2025. Everything else about the situation screams “CAUTION!” though. Limited talent at receiving skill positions combined with sketchy OL play is a recipe for disaster — just ask rookie year Bryce Young.
Even with that warning, the Titans’ talent situation is nowhere near the level of the 2023 Panthers, so I’m not saying you should avoid him at all costs. But considering that he’s not a running QB any more than most 22-year-old QBs, he doesn’t have the high floor like Jayden Daniels, Caleb Williams, or Bo Nix did in 2024. If the Titans don’t also make significant additions at both WR and along the OL, treat Ward as a low-end QB2 (QB21-24 range) for 2025.
What is the deal with Shedeur Sanders?
Draftniks have publicized Shedeur Sanders’ projected slide down NFL draft boards pretty well. However, we are in April, and we know it as the “silly season” for a very good reason—everyone in the NFL is always lying. To this point, the media is connecting Sanders with several teams: the Saints, Steelers and Browns, just to name a few. We’ll look at each situation on a high level but focus more on how Shedeur’s skills will translate broadly.
Shedeur Sanders’ Skills
Sanders has enough arm talent and athleticism to function in the NFL, but neither are ‘plus’ tools for him. He will be best off as a distributor of the football a la Jared Goff rather than a weapon in the offense like a Lamar Jackson or even Bryce Young. Sanders demonstrates that he can make good decisions regarding where he throws the football — you don’t complete 74% of your passes in college without being able to do so. However, it’s impossible to watch his tape without seeing his pass-catchers making plenty of great plays to help bolster that number. Of course, that’s all part of it, but it’s an important part. An additional facet is that Sanders can be baited by DBs when trying to time intermediate and deep routes breaking toward the sideline. In the NFL, where athletes are better and their discipline is much greater than they are in the college game, this is an area Sanders will have to clean up.
Putting all this together, Shedeur will do best in the NFL if his team doesn’t just allow him to sit and learn but requires him to do so. Sanders’ ability to sit and learn the playbook, NFL speeds, and how to approach the game as a professional will be essential for him to thrive once he has the opportunity to start a couple of years down the road. If Sanders’ team thrusts him into a starting role immediately? Yikes.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Currently, the Steelers only have Mason Rudolph on the roster at QB. There’s still the chance that Aaron Rodgers could end up in Pittsburgh, so Shedeur could sit and develop the way he needs. That’s a relatively big “if,” though. Rudolph isn’t a good enough starter to keep Sanders on the bench unless the Steelers are very intentional about it. In fairness, Mike Tomlin may very well be that intentional, but we can’t assume it unless Rodgers is there.
The overall offensive scheme and personnel in Pittsburgh will fit Sanders pretty well. The Arthur Smith game plan emphasizes the running game, quick passes, and deep vertical shots down the field. Sanders can operate all three aspects well enough if called on to start. I don’t see him being a quarterback you would want to ever start in a 1QB league aside from massive injury and bye week issues—think 2024 Kirk Cousins—but sometimes that’s also the way it goes.
New Orleans Saints
“The Saints have an incumbent starter in place” — one Derek Carr.
This is what I had written, along with “That should be enough to buy Shedeur Sanders one year on the bench to grow at the very least.” Naturally, the same day I submit this, it comes out that Derek Carr likely needs shoulder surgery and his season is now in doubt. On top of Sanders potentially starting much sooner than he should be, he would remain with the Saints. And this franchise seems determined to dig the hole ever deeper into futility, rather than rebuild.
It’s a bit of a mystery what Kellen Moore’s offense will look like in New Orleans, thanks to an overall lack of talent. While Chris Olave and Alvin Kamara are both in the upper echelon at their respective positions, neither has a reasonable claim to being the best at their positions. Moore has most recently worked with players who can make that claim — Saquon Barkley, AJ Brown and CeeDee Lamb. This leaves some room to doubt that he’ll be able to recapture that magic with some solid but lesser talents.
The best-case scenario is that Carr can either avoid surgery on his shoulder altogether, or if he does need surgery, he’s ready for Week 1. If Carr’s injury forces Shedeur Sanders to start at all in 2025 for New Orleans, that likely means things have gone well off the rails for the team as a whole. Again. If Sanders ends up in New Orleans, leave him to other players to try and get anything out of him while you look elsewhere.
Cleveland Browns
Oh, Cleveland.
With Kenny Pickett and newly signed Joe Flacco in place in the QB room, this isn’t exactly a situation set up to allow Shedeur Sanders the time to sit and develop. Compounding this challenge is an owner who seems hell-bent on directing when players play, despite all logic pointing to the contrary. Further complicating things for the Browns as a Sanders landing spot is the overall state of the roster on offense. Cleveland’s OL, RB room, and pass-catching options all rate slightly subpar, at best.
Not everything is doom-and-gloom, however. We know Kevin Stefanski runs a very QB-friendly offensive scheme. So if Sanders does see the field early, there’s at least some reason to hope he could touch low-end QB2 numbers on a short-term, 1-4 game scale.
Make no mistake, this is a disaster situation for Sanders — an OL that has fallen on hard times and desperately needs a considerable infusion of talent, a pass-catching corps that is below average at the very best, and a QB room that’s uninspiring enough that it won’t preclude Cleveland from throwing Shedeur to the wolves before he’s ready. With the draft ahead and a few veteran WRs still unsigned, this can change between now and the season, of course. Just understand what you’re looking at for Shedeur Sanders going in. Let someone else chase Sanders if he winds up in Cleveland.
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