Falcons' Raheem Morris Opens Up on Titans No. 1 Pick Cam Ward

Joint practices present a lot of opportunities to NFL head coaches. For Atlanta Falcons' Raheem Morris this week, he is receiving an early look at the league's No. 1 pick from the 2025 NFL Draft -- Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward.

Morris told reporters Wednesday that he likes what he sees.

"When you go back and watch him on tape, you see a guy that's fearless. I love his attitude. I love his work. I love what he's able to do," Morris said to the media. "Obviously, he's brand new. He's learning his offense. He's finding out when he can fit those things into the windows. He's got a lot of confidence in his arm. What he can throw and what he can do.

"They have a bright future with the young man. He's everything that was advertised when you talk about the worker, and we know about that. That's legendary. So, you know he's going to work at it."

Falcons Facing Titans QB Cam Ward in Joint Practices, Week 2 of NFL Preseason

The 2025 draft class was not regarded as a very good quarterback class. Obviously, sometimes those types of predictions can be wrong, but at least compared to the 2024 class, which is when the Falcons drafted Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall, pundits didn't regard the 2025 quarterback group as strong or deep.

But the lone exception was Ward, who quickly became the consensus No. 1 pick in 2025 when it became clear the Titans would draft a quarterback to eventually replace former second-rounder Will Levis.

After Ward at No. 1 overall, the next quarterback off the draft board this past spring was Jaxson Dart to the New York Giants at No. 25. New Orleans Saints' Tyler Shough was the only other signal-caller selected in the top 90 this past year.

Nothing is guaranteed through the NFL Draft. But Ward was as sure of a thing at quarterback in 2025 as anyone. Morris has clear confidence in him to meet and even exceed his draft expectations.

In his preseason debut versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Ward completed 5 of 8 pass attempts for 67 yards. While a small sample, Ward averaged 8.4 yards per pass, which is a high mark for a rookie quarterback in his first game action.

Unfortuantely, fans aren't likely to see Ward and Penix -- two of the most exciting young signal-callers in the league -- square off Friday night. Morris indicated Tuesday that Penix is probably not going to play in Week 2 of the preseason.

In Morris' first season as head coach year, starting quarterback Kirk Cousins didn't play at all during the exhibition campaign.