WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Charvarius "Mooney" Ward quickly has proven to be worth the high price the 49ers paid for the cornerback in the offseason.
The 49ers had a priority of locking down their secondary and signed Ward to a three-year contract worth $40.5 million in free agency. Ward might not have had the cache of other household names, but that didn’t matter to 49ers general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan.
Through five games this season, Ward has proven his worth, breaking up eight passes, four of which came in the 49ers' Week 5 win over Carolina. The fifth-year pro also has racked up 18 tackles and one interception while receiving the fifth-highest PFF grade for coverage in the NFL (minimum of 100 snaps).
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“That's what he hoped he could be like,” Shanahan said Wednesday. “When you get into free agency, the money gets so high, and his did, too, but we thought it would be worth it. For him to come and be exactly what we thought has been great. When you do take a swing, you hope you hit, and I really feel like we have.”
Ward quickly fit into the 49ers' defensive scheme, and he creates a challenge for any quarterback willing to throw at him. Ward only allowed one catch for 32 yards in Week 5 while forcing four tight windows on six targets, according to Zebra Technologies.
Ward has forced the highest tight-window target rate (36.7 percent) since entering the league in 2018 (minimum of 200 targets). But coverage isn't the only area where Ward excels. He told NBC Sports Bay Area that he loves to be involved in the run game as well.
“I don’t just get paid to cover. I get paid to tackle, too,” Ward said after Sunday’s game. “They block down, running back goes out to my side, I’m going to hit him. I’m going to keep getting my nose dirty. I’m not afraid to tackle.”
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Ward’s physical talent is enhanced by his mental preparation and technique. Shanahan explained how that helps Ward play with minimal mistakes.
“I think he's never out of control,” Shanahan said. “He’s not a guy who misses very much. He's patient with his hands, patient with his feet, always seems on top of guys, and has the speed and length to recover, too, when he is not.”