Dan Orlovsky Explains Why Cam Ward Is NFL Draft’s Top QB

Dan Orlovsky sees a clear difference between Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders.

The former quarterback and current ESPN analyst has studied tape on both players and breaks down why Ward is the clear-cut No. 1 quarterback prospect while Sanders is a “tough evaluation” as the No. 2 quarterback prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft.

“Cam Ward is a guy when I started to study his tape after the season, the biggest takeaway was, he was so much more impressive within the pocket than I had anticipated,” says Orlovsky of the likely No. 1 overall pick. “There’s definitely the ability to make plays outside the pocket — it’s a necessity in the game nowadays, especially to be an early draft pick. But he was so good in the pocket, so sudden, we use the word ‘twitchy,’ I thought the ball jumped off of his hands.”

Ward finished as a Heisman Trophy runner-up after leading the Miami Hurricanes to a superb start, with the Hurricanes starting out the 2024 season 9-0. The 22-year-old carried Miami to the best offense in the league, with the Hurricanes averaging 43.9 points per game.

The 6-foot-2 quarterback was a Consensus All-American after throwing for 39 touchdown passes and over 4,300 yards.

“There’s a lot of the style that he plays with that meshes well with Tennessee and Brian Callahan, their head coach and play caller,” says Orlovsky of Ward’s fit with the Titans. “I was more surprised and impressed with Cam Ward than I anticipated.”

When it comes to evaluating Sanders, Orlovsky isn’t as confident as his evaluation of Ward. The former 12-year NFL veteran says the Colorado Buffaloes alum is the “most difficult” quarterback he’s evaluated since he started as a television analyst in 2022.

He mentions how many of Sanders’ pass attempts were short-yardage throws at or five yards beyond the line of scrimmage.

“Then you go to Shedeur Sanders and I’ve said that he’s the most difficult quarterback that I’ve had to evaluate since I’ve gotten into TV, because 50% of the snaps happen at or behind the line of scrimmage, the throws are within five yards,” says Orlovsky. “You’re not drafting a guy in the top five at that position because of that stuff. Most quarterbacks at any decent level should be able to operate that stuff.”

Orlovsky does mention that Colorado’s offensive line was terrible which made it a necessity for Sanders to get the ball out quick and short. He does complement Sanders on his accuracy, but mentions that he does not wow you with his arm.

“I’m not drafting you second, third, fourth, fifth, because of that,” says Orlovsky of Sanders excelling at short throws. “He’s a tough evaluation from that regard. He doesn’t wow you physically. He’s not six-foot-4, 220 pounds. He doesn’t have this arm that you sit there and go, ‘My goodness, it’s a cannon.’ He’s really accurate with the football – but it’s not ridiculous, CJ-Stroud ball placement.”

When thinking of player comparisons for Sanders, he mentions names like Brock Purdy, Tua Tagovailoa and Baker Mayfield. Guys that have been Pro Bowl or MVP candidate players, but don’t wow you physically.

“There’s a lot of stuff that you like, there’s stuff that he does good, but you’re searching for what’s un-coachable, and there’s just probably not a ton of that in his game,” says Orlovsky of Sanders’ standout physical traits. “That doesn’t mean he’s not capable of being a really good player. We have Jared Goff, Geno Smith, Dak Prescott, Baker Mayfield and Tua Tagovailoa that maybe don’t wow you physically, but are really good players.”

Orlovsky says Sanders going to the New Orleans Saints – who pick at No. 9 and have Derek Carr currently dealing with an injury that puts his status for 2025 in question – a “good place” for Sanders.

The biggest takeaway that Orlovsky has from watching Sanders’ tape is that he’s a guy that you “win with,” but you don’t win “because of.” That would put him in the mold of a Purdy or Tagovailoa, two proven winning quarterbacks who are good, but not considered in the elite with players like Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen.

“He’s a quarterback you win games with – he’s not a quarterback that you win games because of,” says Orlovsky of Sanders. “Players that I’ve comped him to are Tua and Brock Purdy. You would want him in that style of offense, that point guard type of offense, where he can be a ball distributor.”

Dan Orlovsky Details NFL x AWS-Powered Draft IQ Platform

Leading into the 2025 NFL Draft, Orlovsky is utilizing a new platform called Draft IQ, powered by the NFL and AWS. It’s a team-focused, analytics-based platform that helps predicts draft decisions by each team.

That analysis is based upon a team’s needs and also based upon their front office’s tendencies when it comes to identifying which prospects teams might target. The NFL Next Gen Stats team built the platform as a way for fans to get an idea of who their favorite teams might target with each of their draft picks.

“This platform – trying to live in the world of what’s next and living in the now – but also living in the what your tendency as an organization or general manager has been,” says Orlovsky. They’re trying to take all the data from history, because history repeats itself in many ways, and saying, ‘This is where the draft is right now. This is who you’ve been as a front office, a general manager, tendencies of that organization. This is where these players are right now.’ It’s predicting what are the next couple moves are going to be.”

Orlovsky details why this Draft IQ platform appeals to every type of NFL fan, even casual ones.

“If you’re super into the draft, the cool thing about it is like you can go as deep as you want to and feel like you’re actually in the war room, in a way,” says Orlovsky. “You can also keep it very casual if you want to because of the different elements they have to it, and how clear it is communicated to you visually, I think it touches a lot of different fans.”

The former quarterback and football expert Orlovsky breaks down what it’s like utilizing the Draft IQ platform for a specific team.

“I can click on the Jets and it gives me their team profile,” says Orlovsky. “All their picks are on the left side, I can see all their picks where they would rank this year, how many picks and the value of them. It gives me a breakdown of their mock draft tracker, some of the team needs.

“It goes player by player to the right,” Orlovsky continues to say. “It gives me round one, who would fall under those team needs? I can go to round two or day two, who falls under that? Day three, who would fall under that? There’s a pie chart that gives me the likelihood of what positions they would fall under.”