PFF Ranks 49ers CB Charvarius Ward 13th Among NFL Free Agents

The 49ers most likely will lose an outstanding cornerback this offseason.
Charvarius Ward is scheduled to hit free agency and he will be the 13th-best player on the market according to Pro Football Focus.
"Ward struggled in 2024 and posted career lows in a number of PFF metrics, but his overall body of work will keep him as one of the top options on the market in 2025," writes PFF. "Last year was his best in the NFL to date, with his 86.5 PFF coverage grade ranking third among all players at the position. With cornerback teammate Deommodore Lenoir receiving an in-season extension, the writing appears to be on the wall that Ward will be on the way out of San Francisco."
Ward struggled largely because his daughter passed away during the season, which means he had to play while he was grieving and working through trauma. He very likely could bounce back next season on a good team with a good defensive coordinator, because he was outstanding under Steve Wilks, DeMeco Ryans and Steve Spagnuolo.
At his best, Ward is an elite press coverage cornerback who can cover big wide receivers man to man as well as any cornerback in the league. In 2023 when Wilks was the 49ers defensive coordinator, Ward routinely followed the opposing team's no. 1 wide receiver around the formation and covered him one on one no matter where he lined up. Almost no cornerbacks do this anymore.
Replacing him won't be easy for the 49ers. They recently gave Deommodore Lenoir a five-year extension, but he's much smaller than Ward. Renardo Green most likely will take Ward's place in the starting lineup.
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