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welcome to the squad, ward will start on the bench and learn.
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Damn. Only red80 could be right, then wrong 49 times, but still actually have been right all along.
#basedRED
Yea and get his weight up. Bethea will be a good mentor for him.welcome to the squad, ward will start on the bench and learn.
Why wasn't he regarded as one of the better secondary players? Is it his small frame/risk of injury?
that's what i liked about ward. he can do EVERYTHING and do everything good. he flies around the football field with speed, making plays with sick instincts(first step). straight up ballhawk and a straight up football player.
well before the combine he was rated as high as the best strong safety in the draft. but yeah his measurables, missing combine and his conference took points away closer draft got. i really got into him after seeing him at the senior bowl. i was like "oh damn this kid is a stud!"
Why wasn't he regarded as one of the better secondary players? Is it his small frame/risk of injury?
i love how he flies around the field. he has some earl thomas to his game and earl thomas is probably my favorite non 49er player. that's why i chose him in my mock couple months back.
Ball skills
Ward covers a ton of ground in the secondary and is constantly breaking up passes. He's a physical and aggressive player in coverage, which makes it tough for teams to complete passes on him. Ward also has long arms that help him get a hand on passes. His compact frame is an asset when he goes up to try and make plays on the football. Ward has solid hands and body control as well.
Coverage ability
If there were any questions about Ward's coverage ability, he answered them at the Senior Bowl, where he reportedly dominated in the one-on-one drills. He has fluid hips in coverage and a ton of short area quickness, making him tough to get separation against. Ward is the type of safety who can line up over a receiver in man coverage and he's physical enough to cover tight ends. The only thing holding him back is a slight lack of size that may make covering tight ends a challenge, but he's certainly willing to take on physical receivers.
Instincts/recognition
The most impressive aspect of Ward's game is his ability to anticipate plays and diagnose what the offense is doing on the fly. He always seems to be a step ahead of the rest of the players on the field. It helps that Ward closes on the football in a hurry. That's a combination of his quickness and his recognition skills. He's also consistently taking proper angles to the football.
Run support
There are times when Ward jumps off the screen, almost literally. He is an aggressive run defender and shows no regard for his body when he's making tackles. For a smaller player, Ward induces some huge collision. That aggressiveness can lead to some missed tackles, but that's more of a technique thing than anything else. He doesn't always wrap up, preferring to leave his feet and try to destroy his opponent. Still, with his speed and recognition ability, Ward is an asset in run defense. Smaller safeties aren't always as physical or willing to stick their nose in the mix when defending the run, but that's the least of Ward's problems.
Final Word
Most of the concerns with Ward's game are minor. He's not the ideal size to play safety, and his straight line speed isn't incredible and he could do a bit better job of tackling at times. Despite his flaws, Ward has the skills to be an impact player in the secondary. He's laterally explosive and has the ability to diagnose plays. So many of the instinctual elements to safety come through in Ward's game consistently. He should be a late first-round pick.
Depending on who you ask, the 49ers are likely to address depth at the safety position at some point in the first three rounds. Heck, with six picks spanning that period, Trent Baalke could call it a day after round three and come away with quite a stash of young talent that either fills a void or adds depth. One prospect that could do both is safety Jimmie Ward from Northern Illinois.
The Basics:
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 193lbs
Arm Length: 31"
Hands: 9 3/8"
Bench: 9
40 yard dash: 4.47*
Broad Jump: 10'5"*
Shuttle: 4.24*
3-cone drill: 6.89*
Pros:
Cons:
- One of the better instinctual DBs in the draft. Reads the flow of the play well and locates ball carrier quickly while exploding to the lane. Weather it's filling the run lane or tipping the ball away from a receiver, Ward seems to always be around the ball.
- Very technically sound. Being smaller, Ward has clearly spent time refining his technique in just about every phase of the game from locating and deflecting the ball to tackling.
- Versatility. Ward can play both safety positions and even corner having lined up as NIU's nickel corner in 3WR looks.
- Size is a concern when facing bigger receivers or tight ends.
- Strength. Ward finished second to last in the bench during February's combine. While it's not the biggest concern for DBs Ward may struggle to match physicality of some big bodied playmakers.
- One of the bigger questions marks is his ability to play in the box in the NFL. He was successful at NIU but his small stature and lack of strength may prevent him from shedding blocks at or near the line of scrimmage.