Cameron Ward | QB | Washington State | 2024 Draft Eligible
We received some surprising news in College Football to begin 2024, as former Washington State QB Cameron Ward declared for the 2024 NFL Draft. Initially, Ward intended to enter the transfer portal to use his 5th season of college eligibility, with Miami and Florida State as his top destinations. Well, Mike Norvell and the Seminoles officially landed former Clemson and Oregon State QB D.J Uiagalelei, which likely played into Ward’s decision to declare. Miami now has to scramble to find their quarterback for 2024, as Ward is off the table and Tyler Van Dyke has transferred to Wisconsin. The Hurricanes were in talks with USC freshman QB Malachi Nelson, the top recruit in the nation for the 2023 class, according to ESPN. I imagine they’ll be doing everything they can to try and bring in Nelson at this point.
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High School
Before we jump into Devy value and where to take Cameron Ward in upcoming fantasy drafts, let’s look at his resume. Ward attended at Columbia High School in West Columbia, Texas. He was a three-year varsity player but played in a system where he didn’t get to flash his arm talent very often. Columbia played an option offense, resulting in Ward averaging just 12 pass attempts per game as a senior. Through three high school seasons, Cameron finished with 2,261 pass yards on 52.8% completion, with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Ward was a dual-threat guy in high school, totaling 11 touchdowns in those three years but just 331 yards on the ground.
Incarnate Word (2020-21)
Due to Ward’s modest high school numbers, he was lightly recruited coming into college. His only offer was to Incarnate Word, the small FCS school out of San Antonio, Texas. He hit the ground running for the Cardinals, earning the QB1 role as a freshman and finding the endzone 26 times (pass and rush TDs) versus just four interceptions.
Ward’s sophomore campaign with Incarnate Word put his name on the map, posting video game numbers all season. Ward finished with 4,648 pass yards, 48 total touchdowns, and 10 interceptions in 2021, earning FCS All-American honors and being named Southland Conference Player of the Year.
Washington State (2022-23)
After Ward’s monster season in 2021, he entered the transfer portal and signed with the Cougars of Washington State. While his numbers weren’t as impressive as those at Incarnate Word, he proved he belonged in the Power 5. Ward averaged 3,483 pass yards and 24 pass TDs per season over his final two years, tacking on another 13 rushing scores as well. These total numbers are respectable for any D1 quarterback, but considering the volume he was given, I have some concerns about Ward’s efficiency. He had just 7.7 yards per pass attempt this past season and only 6.5 yards per attempt in 2022. He’s never had a college season with 8.0 or more pass yards per attempt. This is considerably less than those top ranked QBs in the 2024 class, like Caleb Williams (9.4), Drake Maye (8.5), Jayden Daniels (11.7), Michael Penix Jr. (9.2), and Bo Nix (9.6).
NFL Draft Projection
It’s tough to tell precisely where Cameron Ward fits into this loaded 2024 QB draft class. If he had stayed a fifth season and declared in 2025, I would have said he was a clear-cut Top-5 QB in the class and possibly a Round 1 pick. This changes things for Ward, however. While there are several QB-needy NFL teams now, I don’t think Ward should expect to hear his name called until late Day 2. He likely won’t be walking into a starting NFL gig right away, but as we saw in 2023, anything can happen with a plethora of quarterback injuries.
I have Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, Michael Penix Jr, and Bo Nix ahead of Ward in this class. I think he is next in line, along with J.J. McCarthy and Jordan Travis. That said, I would bet on McCarthy and Travis being drafted earlier than Ward, so I’d have to give the edge to them as well.
Dynasty/Devy Value
While I think “NFL starter” is within Ward’s range of outcomes, I preferred the odds of him doing so if he stayed a 5th year in college. Ward has the arm strength to succeed at the next level, but he needs to improve on his processing and decision-making. He also relied heavily on quick screens in college, playing into the low Yds/Attempt numbers we mentioned earlier. And Cameron has little rushing upside, so I think his fantasy ceiling is capped much more than most of his competition here. If you’re drafting your fantasy teams before the NFL draft, I wouldn’t spend more than a mid-third rookie pick on him. If you’re drafting rookies in a new startup this offseason, I would place Ward in that QB30-35 range for now. Draft capital and landing spot will determine a lot here, and he could certainly shoot up my rankings, but I’m not willing to roll that dice until after April.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article, and I hope you got some valuable information you can use for your fantasy team! If you’d like additional insight into Dynasty Football news and analysis, please follow me on Twitter at @jim_DFF. Until next time, keep grinding out there, DFF family! #DFFArmy #AlwaysBeBuilding
