Kyle Shanahan on Charvarius Ward: "He's Been What We Hoped For"

Signing prominent players in free agency doesn't usually pan out for the 49ers.

However, Charvarius "Mooney" Ward is looking like a homerun signing for them. Whether it is in pass coverage or defending against the run, Ward has been superb for the 49ers. This defense has always needed that lockdown cornerback in its ranks and now it finally has one who do that along with run defense.

“That's what he hoped he could be like," said Kyle Shanahan, "He's been what we hoped for and what we hoped we were getting and paying for. I think that's so hard in free agency. We've kind of looked at that almost every year.

"And when you get into free agency the money gets so high and his did too, but to see the player with that money we thought it would be worth it and for him to come and be exactly what we thought has been great. But it's always hard to do that. It took us a while to be able to do that, but when you do take a swing, you hope you hit and I really feel like we have.”

Ward's coverage has been so great that he is leading the league in tight window rate (36.7 percent) per Next Gen Stats, which means he has been giving quarterbacks a very thin space to throw the ball to his receiver. It is not surprising considering Ward led the league in that category last year as well at 46.3 percent.

Signing Ward was the first time the 49ers really invested heavily in a cornerback. Drafting one hasn't been higher than a third-round pick with Ahkello Witherspoon and signing one has only been bargain bin diving like with Richard Sherman. This time around they acknowledge they need an immediate upgrade. Waiting for players such as Ambry Thomas to develop just wasn't adequate for a defense that could be great.

It shouldn't come as a shock as to why the 49ers defense is roaring this season.