Ward’s opening press conference as a member of the Indianapolis Colts shed a light on his mentality as a team’s top cornerback.
The Indianapolis Colts have lacked a true lockdown cornerback to combat the ever rising influx of wide receiver talent across the NFL — until now.
Former second-team All-Pro CB Charvarius Ward heads to Indianapolis with a fresh start in mind, a chip on his shoulder, and a hunger to remain one of the league’s best at his position.
Earlier today, Ward took to the podium for his first press conference as a member of the Colts’ defensive backfield. During said availability, he talked about his mindset as a team’s top cornerback, his eagerness to return to the gridiron, and envisioned himself alongside his defensive back brethren under new defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.
Ward had always been an underappreciated player during his time with the Kansas City Chiefs, but it wasn’t until he arrived in San Francisco where he’d be regarded leaguewide as one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks. When asked what he believes makes him a great corner, he responded with confidence that his versatility speaks for itself.
“I can press, I can tackle, I can play off, I can travel with the best receivers — I feel like I can do it all as a corner. My game is versatile, I feel like I’m a CB1. A great cornerback,” said Ward.
As if there was any doubt, the statistics certainly back up Ward’s claims. In six seasons as a starter, Ward has forced a completion percentage of 53.8%, has totaled 10 interceptions and 67 passes broken up (a league-leading 23 in 2023), and has a career missed tackle rate (5.6%) — the best rate of any player since 2018 per Next Gen Stats.
When asked if a certain type of confidence is required to be a team’s number one corner, Ward agreed.
“I feel like you have to have confidence in yourself and believe in yourself as a corner. If you line up against any wide receiver in the league and you’ve got doubt that you’ll be beaten, you most likely will be beaten. I line up with the mentality of not caring if I get beat or not. I go out there with every play, thinking I’m the best, thinking I’m better than the man in front of me. That’s my mentality every time I line up.”
Almost a delusional sense of confidence, if you will. Ward recognized the mental constraints that a lack of confidence has in playing cornerback and vowed to bring it his all on any given down.
When it comes to playing under Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo’s scheme, Ward shared that the new man in charge has big plans for him. Ward also explained his belief that his versatility in the backend allows him to do things that most cornerbacks can’t do.
“I think I’m versatile and can play in any scheme. He said I’m going to travel with the opposing best receiver. He’s gonna let me press, let me do my thing — be physical, be aggressive, be me. Be that guy that they paid me to be.”
Schematically, traveling with the opponent’s best receiver game in and game out is a massive change from recent Colts defenses. Partly due to a lack of talent to employ such a tactic, the Colts have traditionally kept their outside corners to one side of the field (i.e., Jaylon Jones played RCB in 2023 whereas Samuel Womack and Co. played LCB).
Ward had been just that for the 49ers during his first two years in San Francisco, but took a step back responsibility-wise during a down year last season. Nowadays, Charvarius Ward will return to that role in Indy as a traveling cover corner.
The Colts’ other big-time defensive back signing, former Vikings safety Camryn Bynum, should fill in seamlessly behind the fellow newcomer. When asked about Bynum’s talents and whether or not they’ve chatted yet, Ward provided his take(s) on the player while also explaining the amount of excitement he has to play beneath a player like Bynum.
“I don’t know him personally but I know he’s a ballhawk and a pretty good dancer. I look forward to being his teammate. He seems like a real fun guy. He’s got a lot of talent. He’s a ballhawk and he’s always in the right spot at the right time. He had a lot of interceptions over the past couple of years. We played them last year in Minnesota and he had two interceptions against us. Definitely looking forward to being his teammate.”
As excited as Ward is to get going with his new team, he also recognized his hardships as a player and person throughout the last calendar year. Ward strives to be the best, but he understands that to be the best, you have to operate like the best.
“Last year I went through a lot. I just felt mentally drained. Physically I was on the football field but mentally I felt retired. My mind wasn’t on the game because I went through a lot last year. After the season I just got the hunger back. I started missing the game. I was excited for the next opportunity. I’m thankful to the Colts. I’m just ready to go out and show that I’m one of the best corners in the game.
I was expecting to come in and be a back-to-back All-Pro. Obviously that didn’t happen, a lot of bad things happened last year. I’m just hungry and ready to prove myself. I’ve got that chip on my shoulder again.”
It’s a scary sight that a top talent like Ward has found the chip on his shoulder that he grew up with, but it came with a horrible price. In late October of 2024, Ward lost his 1-year-old daughter, Amani Joy, after she battled heart problems throughout her young life. A tragedy unlike any other, nobody would’ve batted an eye if Ward had chosen to retire altogether.
Remarkably, Ward continues to chase his dream. Instead of dodging questions that pertain to his awful tragedy, Ward opened up to the local media and explained what it was like from his perspective as someone working through such devastation.
“I had to get out of San Francisco, honestly. There was a lot of PTSD out there. Really it was painful to be out there. Mentally every day it was draining. It took a lot out of me to go back to San Francisco. The only reason I went back is because I thought we were going to turn it around. We didn’t, but I thought we had a chance to make the playoffs and I wanted to be there for my brothers.”
I had to get out of there man. It was hard every day. Mentally, I was in Texas with my family. Physically, I was in Santa Clara with the 49ers. You’ve gotta be where your feet are and I wasn’t where my feet were last season… I definitely needed a fresh start. Like I said, I’m excited, thankful, happy, blessed — all the good things to be here.”
I, for one, am incredibly thrilled to hear that Charvarius Ward is in a better place nowadays. I could not fathom living through such a tragedy and hope that this fresh start in Indianapolis is a fruitful one, both mentally and career-wise, for Ward and his family.