Photo Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
The Tennessee Titans are working to make rookie quarterback Cam Ward feel at home in their offense. After selecting Ward with the No. 1 pick in this year’s NFL Draft, the Titans are now focused on helping him adjust quickly and build confidence early.
Blending Ward’s Strengths Into Titans’ Offense
Head coach Brian Callahan and the offensive staff have been studying film from Ward’s time at Miami to find plays and concepts that worked well for him. They’ve started adding those into the team’s system using their own language.
“We have it all broken down and put it all in our terminology,” Callahan said before rookie minicamp. “We try to teach our system the way we run it, and then we take input from Cam, and all the quarterbacks for that matter, on different things they’ve done, how they’ve called it, how they read it.”
The Titans want to follow the example set by teams like the Texans and Commanders, who helped C.J. Stroud and Jayden Daniels become immediate stars as rookies. Both quarterbacks won Offensive Rookie of the Year and led their teams to the playoffs.
Ward Off to a Confident Start
Ward looked confident during rookie minicamp, which Callahan described more as an orientation than a competition. Ward’s quick release stood out as he threw to fellow rookies. He wasn’t afraid to speak up either—he asked wide receiver Elic Ayomanor to redo a rep he didn’t like and gave feedback to others between plays.
“It’s been the same route concepts,” he said. “A little bit different footwork, but that all comes with time and preparation. I got two good coaches who continue to motivate me every day in coach Callahan and [quarterbacks] coach Bo [Hardegree], so I think I got a good group of guys around me to help.”
Fast Learner With a History of Adjusting Quickly
Ward is used to learning on the fly. In high school, he ran a run-heavy Wing-T offense. But when he joined Incarnate Word in college, he quickly adapted to a pass-first Air Raid system under coach Eric Morris.
Morris eased Ward into that system by starting him with drills that had no defense for the first few weeks. That’s exactly how the Titans approached rookie minicamp—Ward practiced without a defense for three straight days to help him adjust.
Morris said that process helped Ward understand the offense before facing live defenses. “We went into 7-on-7 mode where he could get just the shell of the defense,” Morris said. “Then they started allowing us to play 11-on-11. We were shocked just when he started the 11-on-11 of how well he was immersed.”
Ward went on to win the starting job, beating out Jon Copeland—who had just set a school record with over 3,300 passing yards the season before. After two strong seasons, Ward followed Morris to Washington State in 2022 and later transferred to Miami.
Thrived at Miami in His Final College Season
At Miami, offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson designed the offense around Ward’s strengths, especially his ability to throw vertical routes. Ward thrived in the system, setting school records in passing yards (4,313), completion percentage (67.2%), and touchdowns (39). He was also a Heisman Trophy finalist.
Titans Taking a Step-by-Step Approach
Coach Callahan said the Titans are starting with the basics. Ward is learning everything from how to run the huddle to how to call plays and manage cadences.
Callahan plans to follow the approach he used with Joe Burrow in Cincinnati when Burrow entered the league as the No. 1 pick in 2020. Because of COVID-19 protocols, many of Burrow’s early meetings were virtual, but Callahan studied that process to learn what worked best.
“One of the things that we did really well in Cincinnati for Joe when he first got there is we were really intentional about making his first year in the NFL feel like Year 3 at LSU,” Callahan said. “Let’s make him feel as comfortable as possible in his first year as an NFL player.”
Callahan wants to do the same for Ward—starting by asking Ward to explain what he sees in certain plays and building from there. If something worked well for him before, they’ll try to include it in the offense.
“Start small,” Callahan said. “Every day you’re trying to get a little bit better than you were the day before and you put the work in and try to get there and you correct mistakes as they come up. The key is once you make one, you correct it and ideally don’t make it again.”
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This report used information from ESPN.
