Right now, if you’re a fan of the San Francisco 49ers, all you’re probably reading about is wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.
Posts by Aiyuk on social media. insider aiyuk conjecture. An estimate of potential Aiyuk contracts.
And so it goes on and on.
If you pay close attention, it sounds a lot like the scrubs janitor from Scrubs talking about his wife and kids.
Strangest of all, the Niners risk missing out on extending a player who is potentially more important to the team’s long-term success because of all the hype and attention surrounding Aiyuk. This is especially true because the player in question also enters the final year of his contract at the same time as Aiyuk, but without the same fanfare.
That athlete? Charvarius Ward, cornerback.
In free agency in 2022, Ward signed a $42 million, three-year contract with the 49ers. He has participated in two complete seasons, racked up six interceptions, and started and played in six postseason games since signing.
Nonetheless, he is a prime example of a player for whom the numbers don’t give the whole picture.
Ward represented a real reliable, long-term solution at cornerback after head coach Kyle Shanahan tried numerous approaches for many years to improve the position, including drafting Ahkello Witherspoon and Ambry Thomas in the first rounds of the NFL Draft and signing big free agents like Richard Sherman.
If anything, his play has gotten better since moving to the Bay Area, even though when he signed he was seen as an underappreciated free agent. As opposed to having sporadic bursts of excellence like Witherspoon and Thomas or being a one-time fill-in like Sherman, Ward has played consistently well during his tenure with the team. Pro Football Focus writer John Kosko recently ranked Ward as the league’s third-best cornerback.
Once more, though, despite the positive numbers, some things cannot be measured. Ward helps San Francisco most with his conceptual additions to the team. With his hard-nosed, lockdown play, Ward gives security and is a huge asset to the defensive coaching staff in a division where the team faces wide receivers like D.K., Metcalf, and Cooper Kupp, among others. This is because Ward eliminates the need for a play-caller to pull out a toolbox of tricks, like exotic blitzes or unusual coverage shifts, to protect the team against big plays.
Keeping all of this in mind, the 49ers should prioritize keeping Ward over Aiyuk.
The 49ers’ first objective should be to extend Charvarius Ward
The first explanation is really straightforward: He has more playing experience than Aiyuk. Out of his six seasons in the league, Ward has had five solid seasons and two fantastic ones with San Francisco. Aiyuk, on the other hand, has likely only had one and a half strong seasons. And he’s 28 and starting to reach his prime.
Even though corners are expensive in the NFL, the market for corners is still relatively stagnant, as seen by the recent explosion of wide receiver contracts, which included huge deals for players like Justin Jefferson, Amon Ra Saint-Brown, and Jalen Waddle. As a result, keeping Ward will probably be less expensive than keeping Aiyuk.
The 49ers’ actual team-building plan, scheme, and roster development are the main causes, though. The Niners, especially in the draft, have a history of consistently and frequently swinging and missing at cornerback. Many years after being drafted, Thomas is still on the team’s margins, while players like Witherspoon and D.J. Reed have moved on. Although he is currently in his final year with the squad, Deommodore Lenoir has been a qualified success. Renardo Green, who was recently drafted, has received favorable reviews right away, but he is still inexperienced.
After that, a few flyers on one-year contracts round out the role.
The 49ers may have an issue with their cornerback situation. Should Ward, Lenoir, or both go down, the team would not have a starting-caliber corner back in 2025. Maintaining a player of Ward’s caliber is the simplest approach to support the more crucial boundary corner position in the short-to-medium term, especially in light of Lenoir’s inconsistent play and the possibility that he performs better in the slot.
It’s untrue at the receiving end.
Deebo Aiyuk may not be as good as Samuel, but he has occasionally outperformed him, and Jauan Jennings has also committed for the medium term. Even if Aiyuk leaves after this season, San Francisco appears to be reasonably set for the long run with young receivers Ricky Pearsall and Jacob Cowing. This is especially true if the team can work out a deal with Samuel, who is maybe a better match for the Shanahan scheme given his versatility.
Does a Shanahan offense really need a top-10 quarterback, two All-Pro receivers, a first-round choice, a gritty slot receiver (who might be followed by a rookie replacement), an All-Pro tight end, and the best running back in the league?
While it’s undoubtedly useful, an offensive coordinator like Shanahan can get points and yards out of pass catchers who are far less skilled and paid. In fact, he even made wide receiver Kendrick Bourne of the New England Patriots pay.
Conversely, as previously said, Corner has proven to be a challenging position to fill.
To be honest, it’s difficult to believe that the 49ers front office can produce the same amount of output per dollar at cornerback—or at any other defensive position, really—as they can on offense. If money is tight—and let’s be honest, it usually is in a sport with wage caps—then quarterback should also receive it. The areas where a team struggles to find stars should always be the center of attention.
It’s time for the 49ers to put an end to this farce, extend their best offer to Aiyuk, and then look for any means necessary to get Ward to sign again.
Which contract extensions do you believe the 49ers ought to focus on first?
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