"Drafted to replace" - Titans insider raises red flag as Cam Ward’s underdog rise to NFL gets six-part docuseries

An upcoming documentary about this year’s top draft pick could serve as a cautionary tale more than anything, according to AZ Sports' Buck Reising, who talked about Cam Ward in Monday's column.

“Look no further than the quarterback Ward was drafted to replace,” Reising said in his piece. “The 2023 second-round draft pick Will Levis was penciled in as the team's starter in 2024. Nothing would have made Tennessee's 3-14 finish because of near-weekly Levis meltdowns more palatable”

Will Levis was a star in college, just like Ward, and the former was on TV a lot in 2024, not just when the Titans were playing, but also in commercials for Parfum de Mayonnaise, among others.

While Reising acknowledges Ward’s six-part docuseries doesn’t exactly parallel the commercials Levis did, he shared some advice for the #1 pick in 2025 when it comes to marketing himself in the NFL.

“Win games first," Reising said. "Let your play on the field do the marketing for you. Maybe then an actual audience on a legitimate platform like Amazon Prime, Apple, HBO or Netflix can be invested in the journey.”

Ward will have plenty of expectations on his shoulders in 2025 as he takes over from a team that finished 3-14 in 2024 and has incurred three straight losing seasons.

Last season, Ward was a consensus All-American at the University of Miami, going 10-3 as the starter, throwing for 39 touchdowns and completing 67.2% of his passes.

The documentary titled “Zero Star: The Cam Ward Story” debuts in September.

Cam Ward is emerging as Titans' leader

Despite not having played a single second in the NFL, Cam Ward is already being talked about as the Titans' leader. Motorcycle Sports says Ward is a leader in the making, with one team observed commenting:

“I’ve liked everything I’ve seen from the rookie quarterback, from his play to his maturity to his leadership.”

Last season, the Titans had five team captains: Will Levis, Jeffrey Simmons, Lloyd Cushenberry, Kenneth Murray and Morgan Cox.

Ward didn’t play NCAA football until 2022, transferring from Incarnate Word to Washington State, where his career took off.

He initially declared himself eligible for the 2024 draft but changed his mind and transferred to Miami to improve his draft stock. It proved to be a sound decision as he was selected first in the 2025 NFL draft.