Louis Riddick of ESPN is a former NFL executive who knows from what he speaks and has evaluated the top players of the 2025 NFL Draft. In his professional opinion, Miami Hurricanes quarterback Cam Ward and Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty are head and shoulders above the rest of the field.

Louis Riddick Says Cam Ward and Ashton Jeanty Are 2 Best Players in the NFL Draft
I asked @LRiddickESPN the best player he saw this college season. He had two: Cam Ward and Ashton Jeanty.
On Cam: "This dude is a stone cold killer. When you talk about alphas, in your face alphas…"
On Jeanty: "Ashton is Emmitt Smith with 4.3, 4.4 speed." pic.twitter.com/Gy70EHe4dj
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) January 16, 2025
Riddick did not mention Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter in his discussion of the two who are a cut above the rest of the draft. Hunter is a two-way player who can energize a team and wreak havoc on opponents from both sides of the ball.
Riddick also spoke glowingly about Ward but remained silent when it came to quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who like Hunter, played at Colorado.
Make no mistake about it. Riddick is in love with Ward’s game and thinks he is a generational player.
“I’ve gotten to talk to him three times,” Riddick said. “I did a game of his at Washington State two years ago, then we got to do two Miami games this year. This dude, he’s a stone-cold killer man, no question.”
Riddick used the same term to describe Ward as Miami head coach Mario Cristobal used all season — alpha dog.
“When you talk about alphas, you talk about in-your-face alphas, quarterbacks that tip the sphere who want to hold everyone else accountable. Some of the stories of what he did with that football team last spring before Miami played in the fall of 2024,” Riddick said.
“The way in which he challenged people who were already there. The way in which he talked to them, the way in which he said, ‘I don’t know what you’re used to, but it ain’t gonna be that way now.’ This was a guy that hadn’t taken a snap yet for the team, are legendary, legendary.”
Riddick also said Ward has moxie and confidence in himself, which rival the Miami swagger of the 1980s. He believes it will do him well in the NFL. He also said Ward will need to learn a few things when he gets to the league, which will make him a better player, and that might have to get some of the ice out of his veins.
“He knows he won’t be able to get away with some of that nonchalant-ness that he showed, but he’s not doing it to rub people’s faces in it,” Riddick said. “That’s just him. He knows that some of that is going to have to go by the wayside and be more secure when he’s in the pocket, like when he got it knocked out late against Georgia Tech, those kinds of things.”
Riddick also paid Jeanty one of the highest compliments you could pay to a running back, comparing him to former Dallas Cowboys legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith. He said Jeanty was just like Smith but with 4.3 or 4.4 speed.
Pro Football Network’s scouting report on Jeanty was extremely favorable. It surmised that he is a physical running back who is a punishing ball carrier but with the speed of a small back. He has a perfect combination of size and speed.
“Jeanty has the baseline vision, explosiveness, and physicality that all offensive coordinators covet in their ball carriers. But the Boise State RB takes things three steps further with his extraordinary creative framework — a framework that’s assuredly translatable in the NFL.
“As a creative threat, Jeanty possesses a devastating elusion fusion that combines crisp agility, lower-body flexibility, post-cut explosiveness, effortless contact balance, and a sixth-sense level of spatial understanding and feel. That fusion makes him almost 1-of-1.
“As a natural runner, Jeanty inspires awe. And as a receiving threat, he has immense upside as well. Not only is he a natural catcher, but his skill set is extremely conducive to yards after catch, and he has the fluidity and energy in his motion to supplement a full route tree.
“At his size, Jeanty will always have some slight limitations as a pass blocker, but even there, he gives great effort and has enough strength. Simply put, Jeanty is a complete three-down volume back with the devastating creative ability to give defenses nightmares for years on end.”