Ex-NFL executive doubles down on Cam Ward-Patrick Mahomes comparison

USA Today

23-06-2025

Leading up to and after the NFL draft, experts have debated who the Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward shares similarities with. While there are many comparisons out there, one sparks more debate than the others: comparing him to Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Former NFL executive turned analyst has been one of the leading proponents of this comparison and continues to voice his opinion. ESPN analyst Louis Riddick is a staunch believer in Ward and has continually spoken about him turning the Titans franchise around in much the same manner that Mahomes has done with the Chiefs.
Riddick recently joined 104.5 The Zone's The Buck Reising Show and broke down what he sees in Ward.
'Yeah, no, I think from a stylistic standpoint, Cam has a lot of things that look very similar to the way Patrick likes to play the game," said Riddick. "Patrick always described it as being like he's playing baseball, like he's just throwing the ball at first base. And that's why his feet sometimes are parallel. The ball sometimes comes out sidearm, three-quarter sidearm. It's a little unorthodox as far as how quarterback traditionally was played. Well, Cam Ward does the same thing. He can do the same types of things. He has very similar arm horsepower to Patrick. He just does. I've seen it up close in person, both of them, so I know. So I'm speaking from experience.'
Riddick is uniquely qualified to make this comparison, having spent seven years in the league as a player with multiple organizations after being a ninth-round draft choice by the San Francisco 49ers, and following that with another 13 years in front offices with the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles, rising from the scouting department to director of player personnel.
After his years in the NFL, he transitioned into media, working with ESPN as a college and pro football analyst. But his role as a talent evaluator heading into the draft allowed him to dissect players like Ward and Mahomes and recognize the similarities in their games.
While the comparison to Mahomes may be a bit premature, there are many reasons why it has some merit, and Riddick continued to break them down.
'He's exactly what Tennessee needs," Riddick said. "That's the kind of personality in that position that Tennessee needs. That's the kind of skill set that Tennessee needs to take that offense and really level it up. He comes from a great family, super supportive people, super nice people, and he is just uniquely zeroed in on trying to be the best damn quarterback he can be. And that's it. That's all he cares about."
"Why wouldn't everybody in Tennessee go and put their arms around him and go, just lead us, man. We're going to ride your coattails. That's exactly what you want. And he's built for it. He's just simply built for it. I'm as convicted on this young man in terms of his makeup as any, whether it was Jayden Daniels last year or CJ Stroud the year before. I'm very much so Team Cam Ward.'
Ward has a long way to go before he can be held in the same regard as Mahomes, but he does have some of the characteristics needed to match that comparison. One of the hardest workers so far through OTAs, his confidence and leadership qualities have been raved about throughout the offseason. Next stop: training camp.