Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid spoke to reporters earlier this week and had plenty of positive things to say about Charvarius Ward.
The Kansas City Chiefs have tried to find something—anything, at times—that works in the secondary this season. As the pass defense unit has struggled to come together due to injuries and inconsistency, the Chiefs have featured a frustrating secondary with significant cornerback issues showing due to lack of overall talent and depth.
Recently however the team’s attempt to shake things in Week 16 unearthed a potential gem in cornerback Charvarius Ward.
Ward came over to the Chiefs just before the start of the regular season in a small one-for-one trade that barely turned heads on the NFL’s transaction wire. Ward had signed with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent, but he was flipped to the Chiefs in exchange for veteran offensive lineman Parker Ehinger, a former fourth-round pick by John Dorsey.
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While Ehinger ended up on injured reserve shortly after the season began for the Cowboy, Ward has shown himself to be an impressive special teams performer. In Week 16, he got his first real chance to show what he can do in pass coverage in his first career start on the road against the Seattle Seahawks.
Ward’s first start was a rather forgettable one. The Chiefs lost the game and there was a lot of blame to go around—not just on defense. Ward allowed some big plays, to be sure, but he was also in perfect position for some of those and Russ Wilson simply delivered in a way that only a truly great passer can.
This last Sunday, however, was a different story for Ward. Instead of hearing about his performance in terms of a moral victory, head coach Andy Reid was glowing in his praise for Ward after the Chiefs dominated the Oakland Raiders in Week 17. Reid spoke to reporters earlier this week.
"I’ll tell you, [Charvarius] Ward, I thought he did a nice job yesterday. Some of the things we talked about. Just challenging him, stripping the ball, working up through the ball. The things that are important as a cornerback, I thought he took a step forward. That was good to see. He played physical."
What’s interesting is that Reid wasn’t even asked about Ward’s individual performance. He just freely offered that to the media—a rare occasion if you’ve been following this team for any length of time. Not only did Ward play well against the Raiders but Reid seems inclined to let him play more as the postseason goes on.
If Ward can help fill in the gaps in the secondary and become a reliable performer, even on a rotational basis, it will go a long way for the Chiefs in this year’s playoff run and into a future where Orlando Scandrick and Steven Nelson are unrestricted free agents.