Within the 49ers new defense, there is an expectation that the safeties’ roles will be relatively clearly defined. I have already broken down Jaquiski Tartt’s potential fit in the SS role, which should see him spend a lot of time in the box which would seem to emphasize his strengths (article here).

If Tartt does open the season as the 49ers’ strong safety, his safety partner could well be his school teammate Jimmie Ward. Judging from reports that circulated during the Combine, the 49ers are thinking of moving Ward to free safety.

One can’t help but feel a little sorry for Ward, who under the last coaching staff spent much of the previous season acclimatizing to a move to outside corner, and now will spend his offseason and much of his crucial fourth year under contract learning the free safety role. It will certainly be a steep learning curve for Ward, as it would appear in college he was primarily a strong safety and nickel corner, whilst in the NFL he has spent most of his time as a nickel corner before also playing as an outside corner last season.

Coming out there was an expectation that Ward could contribute in multiple defensive back roles, with the capacity to contribute right away as a nickel corner and third safety whilst he developed his craft per Eric Galko of Optimum Scouting. It could be that this is the year where Ward can finally establish some positional consistency and shows himself to be a highly capable free safety in the 49ers cover 3 scheme.

MEASURABLES

Ward stands at almost 5"11 and is believed to weigh around 193lbs. He is of a similar height to Earl Thomas, who is the prototype for the cover-3 free safety in the NFL, though Ward weighs almost 10lbs less than Thomas. This is weight that Ward could look to add, especially given his injury history playing as a nickel corner but such a weight gain could negatively effect his speed and thus his range, one of the traits that makes him an attractive option as a free safety in the cover 3 scheme.

During the draft process, Ward ran a 4.47 forty yard dash, a tenth of a second slower than Thomas but he did massively outperform Thomas in the vertical jump, jumping 6 inches higher than the Seahawks' player. There can be little doubt that Ward does match up well to Thomas from a measurable standpoint, a way that obviously makes him a candidate to fill the free safety role in the defense the 49ers are expected to run. His film supports these measurables as well as alleviating some concerns about his weight.

TAPE

Far more important than his measurables will be whether Ward displays the requisite traits to exceed as a centre fielder. Ricardo Allen of the Falcons falls well short of the athletic measurables of Earl Thomas but has proven a very capable free safety for the Falcons. Clearly, some traits are inherently tied in to athletic measurables; one of the reasons Thomas is such a sensational player at the position is because he has 4.37 40 speed. His range is simply unparalleled. Similarly unparalleled is his positioning however, though Allen demonstrates excellent positional nous to reduce the concerns about his speed.

The problem with analysing Ward’s film to ascertain his fit as a deep centre fielder is that there is very little film of him playing the position. He occasionally played the role in college (and when he did the opposition avoided him) but spent much more time in the box as a SS and nickel corner - presumably to ensure he was involved as frequently as possible in a way similar to Tyrann Mathieu’s utilisation in Arizona.

Nonetheless, he flashed traits at those positions that led experts to consider him capable of playing both safety positions at the NFL level. I will attempt to draw attention to plays which demonstrate these abilities.

A. Tackling

Despite being somewhat undersized, Ward has demonstrated throughout college and since coming into the NFL that he has the capacity to play larger than his listed size. One of the traits that he possesses that makes him suitable to consider for the FS role in the 49ers’ new defense is the strength of his open field tackling.

Despite possessing a smaller frame and relatively short arms, Ward is an excellent finisher in space, demonstrating solid footwork to get into position to make tackles. He tends to wrap up, but even when he doesn’t, he almost always stop the ball carrier in their tracks. He also demonstrates a particularly good understanding of angles and his assignment, very rarely over pursuing and often using the sideline to his advantage. He is aggressive in coming down into the box from deeper positions, showing his athleticism and arrives quickly and effectively. I didn’t see him miss a tackle in 10 matches.

The key thing to take from the film here is that Ward is a very effective tackler, capable of taking on players much larger than himself. This ability is massively helped by his awareness for angles and his active feet when closing and making a tackle, adjusting his cadence and stride length to get close to the ball carrier, ensuring that he is not disadvantaged by his shorter arm length. His reacts decisively and gets into position to make plays incredibly quickly.

B. Coverage

Having spent time at outside and nickel corner in the NFL, in addition to his college career, one would expect Ward’s coverage abilities to be of a level required to play at safety in the NFL. The difference between the coverage responsibilities Ward has faced for much of his career and those he will face as a single high safety are stark however.

Rather than having the luxury of largely focussing on a smaller area of the field and cover that area, Ward will have to cover a considerably larger area. He will have to have a solid awareness for downfield route combinations to avoid being drawn close to the line of scrimmage, exposing the area behind him, as well as having excellent understanding of the techniques his fellow DBs are playing. As the last line of defense, a blown assignment from Ward will almost certainly result in a touchdown.

Nevertheless, he has demonstrated excellent coverage ability, even on the rare occasions he was asked to play deep. Furthermore, with 7 interceptions and a further 10 pass break ups in his final year of college, and 1 interception with a further 12 pass breakups last season in the NFL, Ward has demonstrated a knack for making plays on the ball. With his 38 inch vertical leap he can contest jump balls with the largest receivers (and he demonstrates good timing of his jumps) and his sub-4.5 speed should give him the range to cover sideline to sideline. He has shown a good capacity for maintaining discipline in coverage and not being fooled by QBs, as well as decisive reactions to the QB’s final decision. His closing speed is highly impressive.

Despite the limited examples of Ward in single high coverage, he demonstrates legitimate play-making ability across the defensive backfield. Unsurprisingly, this is largely a product of his athleticism and his ability to locate the ball, even with his back turned, and make plays on it.

If Ward can utilize these abilities, he as a good chance at being a highly effective cover 3 safety covering the back end. Such plays on tape are surely what makes him an attractive option at the position for the new coaching staff.

C. Blitzing

As a result of his time spent at nickel, corner and strong safety, Ward has had considerable experience as a blitzer. Similarly to Jaquiski Tartt and Eric Reid, his potential partners at safety at this point, Ward has the capacity to blitz off the edge due to his use as a press cover man.

His has demonstrated considerable ability in this area grading at 65.6 from PFF on 14 pass rushing snaps in 2016, ranking as their 7th best qualifying pass rushing corner. He would have been in the top 15 of safeties. This versatility will allow the 49ers to vary how they use their safeties, with Ward able to blitz off the edge, utilizing his closing speed and tackling prowess to make plays on the quarterback.

CONCLUSION

Assessing whether Ward is a fit for the FS role in the 49ers new scheme is, as with any position change, a projection. Clearly, unlike most position changes, Ward has a limited amount of experience in the role going back to some snaps in his college days which will ease the transition slightly.

What is clear, both from this college days and in the NFL, is that Ward is an incredibly athletic player with the football IQ, tackling ability and ball skills to potentially excel as a deep centre fielder. He has the range to fly down from deep positions as well as cover sideline to sideline. He has the ability to compete on jump balls with the vast majority of receivers in the NFL, the contact skills to tackle whoever he comes up against and the ball skills to be a playmaker for the 49ers at the back end. Ward could be a huge success at the FS position, provided he adjusts well and his reading of the game from the deep centre field is as strong as his reading of the game from closer to the line of scrimmage.

This is, nonetheless a significant projection and I don’t think Ward moving to FS precludes the team from selecting Malik Hooker if he is the BPA in their eyes when they are picking. Hooker has proven pedigree at the position and would certainly be able to play the FS role in the 49ers' defense.