How 49ers Signee Charvarius Ward Went From Unwanted Prospect To $40 Million Man

Middle Tennessee State defensive backs coach Steve Ellis was watching players from Hinds (Miss.) Community College during a pick-up basketball game in December of 2015 when a kid came out of nowhere to corral a rebound and throw down a tomahawk dunk.

“I’m like, Who in the hell is that?” Ellis said.

Kansas City Chiefs fans probably had the same reaction when Charvarius Ward, an undrafted rookie free agent acquired via trade before the 2018 season, ended up starting at cornerback in Week 15 that year against Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks.

Ward went on to become the ultimate diamond in the rough.

He started 41 games for the Chiefs from 2019 to 2021 and just signed a three-year deal worth up to $42 million with the San Francisco 49ers.

That’s quite an upward trajectory for a player neither desired by colleges desired nor drafted by any NFL teams.

“He had great potential,” said Ellis, who is now the cornerbacks coach at East Carolina. “He just needed time.”

The lack of interest from NCAA programs can be attributed to his abbreviated time in high school and his skinny frame.

Ward was so academically advanced at McComb (Miss.) High that his mom, Tanya, had him skip his sophomore year of high school.

“He didn’t play enough football to be recruited,” Middle Tennessee State head coach Rick Stockstill said.

In addition to his limited high school football career, even though he earned All-Region honors as a senior, he only weighed about 155 pounds when he graduated McComb at just 17 years old.

So Ward enrolled at Hinds, which is about 80 miles north of McComb, to bolster his football pedigree.

“He went to junior college to get noticed,” Stockstill said, “not to get his grades right.”

After two years at Hinds, the 19-year-old Ward was still just 170 pounds when he enrolled at MTSU in 2016.

It’s hard to imagine Ward, who the Chiefs listed at 6-1, 195 pounds and excelled in Steve Spagnuolo’s aggressive press-man coverage scheme, having such a wispy build.

“He is a big physical kid for a corner,” said Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. “He’s got good size. He’s a good tackler and he’s long.”

Ward always had good length and large hands, but to help mold a player who would eventually excel in the Chiefs’ system, the MTSU staff prioritized bulking him up through a nutritional diet and weightlifting.

Ward also followed the model of Kevin Byard, his recruiting host to MTSU who was known for his work ethic.

Byard, a two-time, first-team All-Pro for the Tennessee Titans, is now the highest-paid safety in the NFL with a contract valued at $70.5 million.

Ward similarly paved the way for his riches through hard work. As he was leaving for church Sunday mornings, Ellis used to see Ward running the Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium stairs.

Despite his lack of bulk, Ward still showcased the tackling skills at MTSU that he would eventually display during the 2021 NFL season when he missed only 5% of his attempts, which is the lowest rate for a cornerback since 2019, according to Pro Football Focus.

“He was a really, really good tackler,” Stockstill said. “He got guys on the ground.”

Going into his senior year, Ward earned the team’s Grinder Award and followed that up with 48 tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack and a team-high 14 pass breakups. In a 30-23 win against Syracuse, he collected six tackles, including a TFL and two pass breakups.

Ward capped his senior year with five tackles and three pass breakups in 35-30 victory against Arkansas State in the Camellia Bowl.

“He had an unbelievable game,” Ellis said.

But just like Byard before him, Ward did not receive an invite to the NFL Combine.

He likely would have performed well, considering his numbers from the MTSU Pro Day. Weighing in at 198 pounds, Ward ran the 40 in 4.44 seconds, broad jumped 11 feet and his hands measured 10 1/8 inches.

After the Dallas Cowboys signed him as an undrafted free agent, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach made one of the best trades of his tenure, exchanging offensive lineman Parker Ehinger for Ward right before the 2018 season.

Ward began his Chiefs tenure mainly as a special teamer before playing at least 85% of all defensive snaps in the next three successive seasons.

“Year by year,” Veach said, “he got better and better.”

And 2021 might have been his best season to date.

According to NFL Next Gen Stats, he gave up the second-lowest completion percentage among defensive backs last season at 45% and the lowest average separation on targets (two yards). And opposing passers posted just a 77.0 rating, according to Pro Football Focus.

Ward also had some noteworthy moments against high-profile receivers.

He ended a scoring opportunity for the Cowboys when he outleapt CeeDee Lamb, Dak Prescott’s favorite target, in the end zone to intercept a pass at the end of the first half in Week 11.

During the Chiefs’ wild-card playoff game, he shadowed one of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ most difficult matchups, the 6-4, 238-pound Chase Claypool, and the talented receiver finished with just three catches for 25 yards.

“He did a nice job with that,” Spagnuolo said. “He had a good battle.”

A battle for the services of the 25-year-old Ward, an unrestricted free agent, ensued this offseason.

Stockstill, who corresponds with Ward regularly, including texting each other good luck before games, had an inkling the Chiefs would not be able to re-sign Ward.

“He said, ‘the Chiefs made an offer, but I feel like I can get more,’” Stockstill said.

Though he declined to identify the NFL teams, several called Stockstill this offseason wondering if the money from a large free-agent deal would change him.

Stockstill said it absolutely would not.

“I’m really proud for him. He’s a great young man,” Stockstill said. “Now he’ll represent the 49ers in a first-class way.”