NFL insider shares wild theory about Titans, Cam Ward speculation

Shortly after numerous reports said that "there's virtually no doubt" that the Tennessee Titans will make Miami quarterback Cam Ward the No. 1 overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, ESPN's Adam Schefter (h/t Turron Davenport) interestingly shared that "Tennessee is still willing to listen to offers for the first pick, but it will now take an even stronger package for the Titans to move down."

On Wednesday, NFL insider Mike Florio of NBC Sports and Pro Football Talk offered an interesting theory regarding what he referred to as "mixed signals" involving the Titans and Ward.

"There’s also a chance that the Titans are building a mystery as a favor to the league," Florio wrote, "which strongly prefers that no one knows anything about which players will be picked and when. So even if it’s clear that Ward will be the first player taken, the possibility that the commissioner will announce at 8:15 p.m. ET or so on April 24 that a trade has been made will encourage maximum viewers to be viewing the draft at that moment."

Per the league's website, viewership of the opening round of the 2024 draft was the highest the league had enjoyed since the first round of the 2021 player-selection process. Meanwhile, Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports is among those who have noted that the NFL is shopping a new draft media rights deal that is set to begin in 2026. Thus, it's easy to imagine league executives would want to see an increase in viewers for the event compared to what last year's draft attracted. 

The fact that the Browns held a private workout with Ward on Wednesday caused some to believe the team could move up from the second overall pick to grab the former Miami star. However, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer quickly pointed out that it's still thought Tennessee "is strongly leaning towards drafting Ward."

The Titans not making any play for Sam Darnold, Justin Fields, Geno Smith, Russell Wilson or even Aaron Rodgers left many reporters assuming the club will take either Ward or Colorado's Shedeur Sanders at No. 1. Florio seems to believe the NFL loves that outsiders could keep guessing about Tennessee's true intentions up through the final Thursday of April.