The Tennessee Titans selected quarterback Cam Ward with the first overall pick of the NFL Draft. Ward emerged as the clear favourite for the prestigious honour in the weeks leading up to the three-day event in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The 22-year-old led Miami to a 10-3 record last season, claiming the most touchdown passes in college football (39) and the second-most passing yards (4,313).

Colorado's Travis Hunter won last season's Heisman Trophy for best college player but the Titans were in need of a franchise quarterback. The Jacksonville Jaguars then made a shock move by agreeing a trade with the Cleveland Browns to gain the second pick, with which they claimed two-way star Hunter. But Shedeur Sanders, Hunter's college quarterback at Colorado and previously Jackson State, was overlooked completely in the first round on Thursday.

Sanders' draft stock fell sharply in the past few days, with some analysts fearing he would not only slide out of the top-five picks but out of the first round altogether, and the most pessimistic projections came to fruition.