Should the 49ers Keep Jimmie Ward at Nickel Cornerback?

The return of Jimmie Ward was a tricky one for the 49ers.

With Talanoa Hufanga playing at a Pro Bowl level and Tashaun Gipson Sr. playing at a high-level, the 49ers were met with a dilemma on their hands. How do the 49ers integrate Ward when the safeties are adequate?

Against the Chiefs, the answer became clear. The 49ers want to use Ward as a nickel cornerback. Now the question remains on if it will be a long-term deal. Ward is a capable nickel corner, but that isn't his best skill. What made Ward such an underrated talent is his return to playing safety in 2019, while aligning in different spots around the defense. However, nickel corner is a questionable spot for the 49ers, which explains their logic in placing Ward there with the hope he can anchor it.

So should the 49ers kee Ward at nickel cornerback?

Not exclusively. He should only be placed there on critical downs or third-and-long situations. That is how I envisioned the 49ers utilizing Ward. He would get several calls to kick down as the slot defender, while moving around in the box and as an outfield safety on early downs. It should not be hard to incorporate Ward along with Hufanga and Gipson. Good coaches figure out how to play their best players while putting them in the optimal positions. Inserting Ward as the starting nickel isn't optimal.

"We'll see how it goes," said DeMeco Ryans on keeping Ward at nickel corner. "Jimmie is a unique player in a sense that he can do things that other players just can't do. His versatility is very unique. He's probably one of the only guys in this league that can do safety, can come down in the box, play nickel, he can do it all, blitzing, covering. Not too many guys can do that and that's a unique talent that Jimmie has, a god given ability that not many guys have, so that's what makes Jimmie unique. That's what makes him stand out among any other players in this league."

Ryans is right. It is what makes him a unique talent to be capable of doing so much. That alone makes him a good player. But just because he is capable of playing the slot, does not mean it is a great strength of his. It is his whole body of work, his array of talents that makes him such a stand out. Ryans has to get Ward in various spots on the defense and not just place him exclusively in one spot, especially nickel corner. When asked if he talked to Ward about switching over to nickel, Ryans was hush hush about it.

"We have conversations, so that's between me and Jimmie," Ryans said. "We had conversations about it."

That right there gives me a bad inclination that the 49ers could be using Ward in the slot indefinitely. And if they do, they are doing him a complete disservice.