Ward, who prefers the nickname Mooney, owned the third-best pass coverage grade (86.5) among cornerbacks last season, behind the Bears' Jaylon Johnson (91.0) and Gardner (90.8), even though he was targeted on more than 100 pass plays. Ward had passes thrown his way more than twice as often as Johnson and Gardner.
PFF's coverage grades, primarily influenced by plays where the defender was targeted, took into account the ability to prevent separation and the difficulty in assignment.
Ward led the NFL in pass breakups with 19 en route to his first-ever Pro Bowl selection.
Mooney allowed a 63.7 NFL passer rating, better than former Chiefs cornerback L'Jarius Sneed, Browns standout Denzel Ward, and Gardner, who has twice been selected to the NFL All-Pro team.
The Jets, who visit Levi's Stadium on September 9 for the Monday night season opener, had three of their cornerbacks make PFF's top-15 cornerbacks: Gardner, Michael Carter II, and D.J. Reed, who was drafted in 2018 by the 49ers.
Pro Football Focus' 2024 top-ten-ranked cornerbacks are:
Sauce Gardner, New York Jets
Trent McDuffie, Kansas City Chiefs
Charvarius Ward, San Francisco 49ers
Pat Surtain II, Denver Broncos
Jaylon Johnson, Chicago Bears
Jalen Ramsey, Miami Dolphins
Jaire Alexander, Green Bay Packers
Kendall Fuller, Miami Dolphins
Michael Carter II, New York Jets
Taron Johnson, Buffalo Bills
Mooney Ward's NFL journey began when he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys in 2018. He was then traded to Kansas City before the season began, where he won a Super Bowl ring in 2019. Currently, he is in the third and final year of a contract he signed with San Francisco in 2022.
Ward said he left Kansas City because they didn't have enough money to compensate him. Now, we will see if the Niners have enough money to re-up Mooney.
Nobody's perfect. Did you find a mistake in this article? Report it.
Comments
Do not use the comments to notify us of errors in the article. Editors may not see it. Instead, report errors here.
More San Francisco 49ers News
Pro Football Focus Ranks the 49ers Defensive Line as the NFL's Second-Best
By Jon Opelt
Jun 25
Emphasizing quality defensive line play has been a cornerstone of the San Francisco 49ers during the John Lynch/ Kyle Shanahan era.
The 49er's rise to perennial Super Bowl contenders has largely been fueled by loading up on the defensive line. The team lost several key...
Maiocco: Renardo Green could solve 49ers' recent cornerback dilemma
By David Bonilla
Jun 19
The San Francisco 49ers might have to choose between keeping Brandon Aiyuk or Deebo Samuel next year. That decision might be straightforward if the team agrees to a contract extension with Aiyuk in the coming weeks.
Another less-discussed decision involves the defensive side,...
PFF analytics seemingly support popular criticism of 49ers QB Brock Purdy
By David Bonilla
Jun 19
Brock Purdy has accomplished a lot in his short NFL career. During his rookie 2022 season, he took over as the San Francisco 49ers' starting quarterback in December. Since then, Purdy has helped guide the 49ers to two NFC Championship Game appearances and, this past season, a...
The San Francisco 49ers may face some difficult decisions next offseason. For now, the team has the salary cap space to keep its core of talented wideouts together for one more Super Bowl run, assuming they can agree on a contract extension with Brandon Aiyuk. Currently, the...