(Photo credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images)

INDIANAPOLIS -- Top-ranked quarterback Cam Ward came to the NFL Scouting Combine to interview with teams but will not participate in on-field workouts with the position group on Saturday.

Ward could be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and met with the Tennessee Titans this week. Tennessee has the first overall pick but general manager Mike Borgonzi said the franchise is interested in trading the selection to accumulate draft picks in the top 100.

'Whether I go first round or second round, at the end of the day, that draft pick doesn't mean nothing,' Ward said. 'It's all about establishing yourself once you get the opportunity.'

Ward plans to throw for scouts at the Miami pro day on March 24.

Ward threw an NCAA-record 158 touchdown passes. He had a total of 18,184 yards in five seasons at three different schools. He started his career at FCS program Incarnate Word (2020-21), transferred to Washington State (2022-23), then headed to Miami (2024).

'It's a positive that he has that grit and determination to prove other people wrong,' Borgonzi said. 'Every place he was at, he performed at a high level -- that's something you certainly take into account when you see someone that plays with that chip on their shoulder.'

Colorado's Shedeur Sanders is another contender to be the top quarterback selected in the 2025 draft. The Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year in 2024, he threw 37 touchdowns and completed 74 percent of his passes. He also won't throw for scouts and coaches in Indianapolis this weekend.

Ward, 22, said he had nothing to gain taking the field at the Scouting Combine. His five seasons of production in college tell teams everything they need to know about him as a player, he said.

'The tape says everything,' he said. 'I think just what separates me from everybody is the way I approach it, the mindset I have going onto the field each and every game.'

Ward said he watched multiple Titans games last season and found the route concepts and general framework of the offense to be so familiar that he believes he's a 'plug and play' fit for Tennessee.

'They've got unbelievable players. So I just hope that God puts me, you know, in the situation,' Ward said.

Sanders, 23, made two college stops and won big at Jackson State and Colorado playing for his dad, Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders. He said NFL teams know he was a driving force in turnarounds at both college programs and should not hesitate to invest in him to do the same at the next level.

'I've done it over and over and over, so it should be no question why an NFL franchise should pick me,' he said Friday.

Overall, Sanders was 36-15 as a starter -- 13-12 at Colorado -- with 64 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He said he respects all of the quarterbacks in this draft class but views himself as the best option, even if NFL teams see it differently.

'The number where you (are picked in the draft) don't matter,' Sanders said. 'I reference Tom Brady, because he is the best of the best in all categories. He ain't go first. So, the number you get picked don't matter. I wasn't the top-rated quarterback coming out of high school, because there are a lot of things that people will like and don't like about me. I'm realistic, and I'm realistic about my family and everything that people say that comes with it.'

--Field Level Media