AFC scouting director repeats draft warnings about Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders

For a piece published back on Jan. 31, The Athletic's Jeff Howe mentioned that "numerous front office sources" said around that time that they would not rank Miami’s Cam Ward or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders "ahead of the six quarterbacks who were selected in the first round" of the 2024 NFL Draft. 

It appears at least some NFL personnel remain unimpressed with Ward and Sanders heading into this week's scouting combine. 

"There isn't a single guy this year you'd take over the six drafted [in the first round] last year," one unnamed AFC scouting director recently said about Ward and Sanders, as ESPN's Matt Miller shared on Monday.  

The Tennessee Titans (No. 1), Cleveland Browns (No. 2) and New York Giants (No. 3) hold the top three picks in this year's draft. All three clubs need long-term answers for their quarterback situations, and at least the Browns and Giants could be one losing season away from experiencing complete regime changes. 

With that said, Miller and Field Yates of ESPN are among draft gurus who believe Penn State pass-rusher Abdul Carter and Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter could be the first two picks of the actual player-selection process. 

However, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer said in an article updated on Monday that the Browns "like" both Ward and Sanders and could "possibly even try to trade up to get the one they like best."

Meanwhile, Jordan Raanan of ESPN revealed on Monday that "multiple league insiders are convinced the Giants have their sights on Sanders." Last week, Browns reporter Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland/The Land on Demand suggested that the club wants the Giants to move up to the No. 1 spot in the draft to acquire Sanders. Grossi thinks Cleveland would, in such a scenario, take Ward with the second pick. 

NFL teams may ultimately agree with the "front office sources" and the AFC scouting director to the point that Sanders will slide down the draft order on the night of April 24. That seems unlikely, though, as history has shown that quarterback-needy clubs often "overdraft" players to address the position.

Back in the spring of 2022, the Pittsburgh Steelers made Kenny Pickett the 20th overall pick of his draft class. Pittsburgh traded Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles last spring, and he became a Super Bowl champion as Philadelphia's QB2 earlier this month.