The 2025 NFL season is nearly here, and with the Hall of Fame Game on the horizon, fans are itching for real games to start.
There’s a lot of anticipation to see how this year’s crop of rookies will fare and how massive an impact they’ll make on their prospective teams.
Some of these players have higher expectations than others, both from fans and their coaching staffs.
Quarterbacks tend to have a lot of pressure on them, especially if a team has struggled at that position for years.
The No. 1 overall pick, Cam Ward, will have his work cut out for him with the Tennessee Titans, an organization that hasn’t seen much stability and traction for several seasons.
Ward was viewed as the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the class for months, and now he has the opportunity to show what he’s made of.
Madden recently released its rankings of Ward and his fellow rookies, and he was given an initial rating of 71.
For context, Travis Hunter was given an 84 rating, and Ashton Jeanty an 83.
While these ratings aren’t necessarily reflective of how all of these players will fare in the NFL, it is interesting to give the No. 1 pick such a low grade.
Robert Griffin III couldn’t believe this, as he noted on X, calling Ward “The most disrespected QB #1 overall pick ever.”
Cam Ward is the most disrespected QB #1 overall Pick EVER. I know it’s just a Madden Ranking , but Cam Ward having a 71 rating and not even being a top 10 rated rookie in the game as the 1st Pick in the NFL draft and the lack of national media coverage of him solidifies it.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) July 30, 2025
Griffin pointed to Ward’s lack of media coverage as a reason for his low rating.
There hasn’t been that much buzz about Ward since he was drafted, as a lot of quarterback coverage has revolved around Shedeur Sanders and the Cleveland Browns’ QB room in general.
It will be interesting to see if Ward’s play keeps his critics at bay, or if he’ll struggle in Year 1 like these Madden ratings suggest.
