Ever since Marcus Peters’ departure, the Chiefs Kingdom has been clamoring for an elite cornerback for the defense.
The front office showed their confidence in the in-house secondary this season by not bringing in any big splash cornerbacks in free agency nor addressing the position until later in the draft. One of those in-house corners has lofty goals for himself and plans to take the next leap in 2020.
Some scoffed at Brett Veach’s decision to trade for an undrafted free agent cornerback ahead of the 2018 season, but Charvarius Ward has proven to be worth the investment.
In his first season as a starter in 2019, Ward recorded 74 total tackles, two interceptions, 10 passes defended and a forced fumble. As a Super Bowl champion, the pressure has been cranked up. Knowing that his running mate Bashaud Breeland won’t be across from him for the first four games makes his success that much direr. Ward spoke about where he plans to go from here after a Super Bowl victory.
“Honestly, I feel like I could be one of the best young corners in the game, as long as I just keep believing in myself and having confidence in myself off the field and on the field,” Ward said. “The sky is the limit. I feel like I’m going to be one of the best young corners in the game this season. I’m going to earn my respect this year.”
While Ward has been effective during his career, he has only the two interceptions recorded in 2019. Ward has been working on improving in that area this offseason.
“That’s one of my biggest things is getting the ball by forcing interceptions and stripping the ball,” Ward said. “Instead of batting the ball, I’m going up with two hands and try to hop on the ball to get an interception. I just want to make turnovers to get the ball back to Pat, Tyreek [Hill], Sammy [Watkins], Travis [Kelce], and all of those guys to get more points. That’s one of my key areas of focus this year – turnovers.”
Ward believes there’s potential for growth for the entire defense in the second year of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s system.
“We’re the defending Super Bowl Champions, so of course we’re ready to get out there and defend our throne,” Ward said. “I feel like everyone knows the system way better, so we’re just building comradery now and getting to know each other better and better. I feel like this season, we could be one of the best defenses in the league if we keep grinding, keep working, and just grind day-by-day.”
At the end of the day, Ward believes in himself and he wants to be recognized as one of the elite cornerbacks in the NFL.
“I just believe in myself and my ability,” Ward said. “I know what I can do on the field, I just need to show the world. I need to show the coaches, show the media, show you guys, show the fans, just show everyone that I can be that lockdown corner that I think I can. I know I can and I’m going to do it”
The vibe in the locker room seems to be the potential of the defense. We all know what to expect from guys like Chris Jones, Frank Clark, and Tyrann Mathieu, but fans aren’t too sure what to expect from Ward. Based on his responses and goals, the Chiefs Kingdom should expect a lot.
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