The San Francisco 49ers' secondary has taken major strides in recent seasons, going from a unit that was seen as arguably their main weakness to a clear strength .
It was recently ranked by Pro Football Focus as the second-best secondary in the NFL.
Key to that rise has been the acquisition of cornerback Charvarius Ward, an extremely astute free agent signing made by the 49ers in 2022.
Ward enjoyed an excellent first season with San Francisco, showcasing his ability to regularly take away the opponent's top receiver.
He took his play to another level in 2023, racking up a league-leading 23 pass breakups to go with five interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown.
Only three corners targeted a minimum of 50 times were credited by Sports Info Solutions with more 'points saved' than Ward (45.96), who was named second-team All-Pro for his outstanding campaign.
His ability to take away one side of the field was illustrated perfectly in Super Bowl 58, when his former team the Kansas City Chiefs refused to even test him. Ward was not targeted once.
Yet in an ESPN ranking of the top 10 cornerbacks in the NFL, collated after polling coaches, executives and scouts from around the league, Ward was conspicuous by his absence.
Ward was only deemed worthy of an honorable mention, though he received one extremely accurate piece of praise from an NFC coordinator quoted for the ESPN piece.
"Probably the most underrated corner in the league," the coordinator said. "Doesn't get a lot of credit, but he's a problem for the top receivers,"
Nothing sums up the lack of credit Ward receives than him being inexplicably left off the top 10 list by people inside the league.
With plenty of motivation to improve on last season as he enters a contract year, the irony is that those who elected not to put Ward in the top 10 could soon be bidding for his services next offseason if he is not re-signed by the Niners .
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