MIAMI — In three weeks pro football fans will gather in the game’s holiest cathedral, Lambeau Field in Green Bay, to celebrate the sport’s biggest day outside of Super Bowl Sunday: the NFL draft. And the biggest stars that night will be Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders, because the highest-drafted quarterbacks glom the spotlight ... no matter how good they really are, or might be at the next level.

Miami Hurricanes fans know Ward as the exciting star who broke long-standing UM passing records including 39 touchdowns last season. Sanders was the guy out front leading the massively hyped turnaround his father/coach Deion made happen at Colorado.

Now Ward is expected to be drafted No. 1 overall by Tennessee and Sanders second or third by Cleveland or the New York Giants. That’s because those teams are both lousy and desperate for an answer at the most important position — desperate enough to overlook a QB’s flaws and wish-see them as better than they are.

The assumption of NFL stardom based on draft position is wildly faulty, and more so at this position, in this draft.

Ward and Sanders have some proving to do. Maybe a lot.

They grand-marshal a weak QB draft, at least compared to last year, with the splendidly named Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss the only other passer with a first-round grade, commonly pegged to Pittsburgh 21st overall. And Ward/Sanders as top-three is less about their pro prospects as it is about QB-desperate teams seeing them with a rose-colored tint.

Former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel, now an analyst with Fox, says Ward has the “qualities” to be a franchise QB but also throws caution at the idea either Ward or Sanders are sure things. He suggests they’ll be taken this high not so much on merit, but because they are the best QBs available to extremely needy teams.

“This is not a great top-end quarterback class,” Daniel says. “If you were to take Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders and put them in last year’s draft, they’d probably be QB6 or 7.”

That may be harsh, but an ACC defensive coach I spoke with said he’d peg Ward fifth behind 2024 draftees Jayden Daniels, Caleb Williams, Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr.

Of the Ward/Sanders-led ‘25 QB class, a veteran NFL executive told longtime NFL writer Bob McGinn of Golongtd.com: “We can’t be honest with ourselves anymore because everybody needs [a star QB]. This is the most overblown group of quarterbacks. Every one of them is overrated and inflated. Wherever they end up, they’re half a round to a round overrated.”

ESPN’s Draft Board ranks Ward the seventh best prospect overall, Sanders 14th and Dart 28th.

NFL.com’s pro scout analysis gives Ward a grade of 6.39, categorized as “Will eventually be plus starter.” That is the seventh of 13 tiers ranked from 8.0 (“perfect prospect”) to 5.50-5.59 (“undrafted free agent.”) Ward’s NextGen Stats rating is 86, or “good.”

From the overview on Ward: “Gunslinger with good size, big arm and mobility. Can read full field and operates with average decision-making and processing quickness. His delivery and mechanics cause inconsistencies with placement and accuracy. He is fairly consistent regardless of coverage scheme, but figuring out disguised coverage on pro level will take time, and it is not a given he will develop that skill. For better efficiency, he needs to learn to mine for gold with combo reads and rhythm throws. While he has the ability to move the sticks with his legs, he’s more of a pocket passer than a dual-threat. With a patient plan and a nurturing offensive coordinator who can accentuate his physical tools while regulating the feast-or-famine elements of his play, Ward could become a good NFL starter.”

The grade on Sanders is 6.30, the low end of “Will eventually be a plus starter,” that same seventh of 13 Sanders’ NextGen Stats rating is 76, or “good.”

From the scouting overview on him: “Sanders has seen mixed results under an intensely bright spotlight, but there are no signs his confidence has ever wavered. Possesses poise, savvy and accuracy, traits integral in becoming NFL starter. He’s slow-twitch with standard arm talent and a longer release, but worked around those limitations with anticipation and accuracy. Plays with decent command in pocket and finds his rhythm when working on-time; that said, he will pass on profits and look for the big play too often. Average velocity means tighter windows against faster athletes, so trying to do more than his arm talent allows is ill-advised. Sanders is pocket-mobile but often creates pressure and sacks with undisciplined drops. Tape says he has necessary qualities to become a solid game manager if he can operate with better discipline.”

The summary of each — “Could become a good NFL starter” for Ward; and “Qualities to become a solid game manager” for Sanders — does not shout certain franchise QB or elite. It suggests players who may be challenged at the next level.

By comparison last year’s top two QB prospects, the rookie of the year Daniels and Williams, earned analysis grades of 6.73 and 6.74, respectively, designated as “Year 1 starter,” the fourth of 13 tiers. Their NextGen Stats ratings were 93 and 92: “Elite.”

Having seen Ward play a lot in person, I love his game. It’s electric. He’s an innovator when plays break down. But the degree of recklessness makes him a risk/reward pick. Sanders? He isn’t the athlete his Dad was. Holds the ball too long, takes too many sacks.

Drafting Ward No. 1 and Sanders second or third is less about their their stamp of sure success as it is what quarterback desperation looks like in the NFL.

It is just the latest wave. The desperation just before it and all around includes:

The Steelers wooing 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers; Raiders trading for Geno Smith; Jets professing (at least publicly) their faith in Justin Fields; Seahawks signing Sam Darnold; Browns putting faith (and way too much money) in Deshaun Watson; Giants signing Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston; and Colts recycling Daniel Jones.

And at least a dozen other teams praying the guy they think they believe in warrants the faith, including the Vikings with J.J. McCarthy, the Patriots and Drake Maye, the Falcons with Penix, the Panthers with Bryce Young and on and on.

One-third of NFL teams are rock-solid at the key position led by Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. The other two-thirds are on a scale of anxiously hopeful to beyond desperate — an amorphous netherworld of doubt that, yes, includes the Miami Dolphins with Tua Tagovailoa, or should.

Tua is entering his sixth Fins season. In 2023 he started all 17 games for the only time and made the Pro Bowl. But health issues including concussions have seen him miss 14 games across 2021-22 and last season, and he is yet to lead Miami to a playoff win.

Tagovailoa’s tenure is becoming reminiscent of that of Ryan Tannehill, who started seven seasons for Miami in 2012-18 and won zero playoff games.

Tannehill was good but not good enough and Miami spent too long wish-waiting for him to be great. Tua is better, but is history repeating?

Mike Tannenbaum was the Dolphins general manager who, along with coach Adam Gase, got fired after the 2018 season in large part because Tannehill wasn’t good enough to save their jobs.

Today Tannebaum is an ESPN analyst still putting his faith in QBs. In a phone chat with me Thursday he said Tagovailoa has “played very well” while noting the durability issue. Said of Ward, “I’m a big fan. He’s a guy that’s gotten a lot better and can be a top-10 quarterback when it’s all done.” He predicted Sanders “has a chance to be a starter in the NFL and a winning NFL starting quarterback.”

Tannenbaum may be right. But as he has learned first-hand:

It’s OK if analyst is wrong about a quarterback, but if a coach or general manager is, it gets you fired.

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