Mel Kiper Jr. Calls out Titans QB Cam Ward's College Coach

The Tennessee Titans may have the most under-discussed No. 1 pick in NFL history. The fact that they took a quarterback makes it even more incredible. Despite Cam Ward going No. 1 overall to the Titans, no one seems to be paying any sort of attention to the Miami product, in large part because they are too busy talking about Cleveland Browns fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders and his monumental slide that took place over draft weekend.

Most of the criticism of the coverage, or lack thereof for Ward, and the continuous over-coverage of Sanders has fallen in the lap of ESPN NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. The analyst notoriously had a viral crash out on live TV, saying the NFL has had no idea how to evaluate quarterbacks for 50 years in the midst of Sanders' slide. Kiper also only gave one team an A+ grade after the draft. That grade went to, you guessed it, the Cleveland Browns for taking Sanders.

On Wednesday, College Football insider Brett McMurphy posted that Miami head coach Mario Cristobal and offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson spoke with several media and TV personalities, but didn't speak to Kiper.

"Miami's Mario Cristobal said he spoke 'to a million people' about No. 1 NFL draft pick Cam Ward – except one," McMurphy posted on X. "'I can’t recall many NFL teams or TV people I didn’t speak to, [Cristobal said].' However, Cristobal & OC Shannon Dawson never spoke w/ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., who was criticized for overshadowing Ward’s moment [with] his non-stop Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders narrative. 'Never heard from him,' Cristobal said. 'I don’t think I’ve ever talked to him.' Cristobal added he wasn’t disappointed by Kiper ignoring Ward. 'The only reason I would be disappointed, was if Cam was,' he said, 'but knowing Cam, he just wanted to hear the name & exactly where he was going & get to work.'"

Kiper replied in a post of his own.

"Mario Cristobal claims he spoke to a million people about Cam Ward, yet the one he didn’t speak to, being me, had Ward ranked higher (6th on my Big Board) than any of the other draft experts," Kiper said on X. "Interesting isn’t it. And oh by the way, I didn’t speak to Deion about Shedeur either. I need another Orange Crush after this nonsense."

This past draft may have had a lot of repercussions from a coverage standpoint, considering the draft felt more like a three-day Shedeur Sanders watch rather than a celebration of talent having their dreams come true. Ward being completely overshadowed is a glaring example of someone being pushed aside, and that is a real problem.

Ward's Titans and Sanders' Browns will face each other in Week 15 of the 2025 season.

Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!