In just a few short weeks, Bengals’ free agency will begin and the organization needs to strongly consider targeting cornerback Charvarius Ward. The free-agent corner has spent the entirety of his four-year career with the Kansas City Chiefs and is now in line to make a boatload of cash this offseason.
Ward somehow went undrafted in 2018 but found his way to Kansas City and has been an impact player for the Chiefs since joining them. This past season, he appeared in 13 games and totaled 67 tackles, 10 defended passes, and two interceptions. PFF gave him a grade of 65.7, which is respectable considering the wide receivers he was going up against.
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report listed Ward on his list of free agents under the age of 25 and Ward made the cut. Knox had the Bengals as the best fit for Ward’s services in 2022 and hopefully beyond.
Knox offered this analysis:
"The Cincinnati Bengals have the cap flexibility and the need to make a fine fit. Cincinnati is projected to have the fourth-most cap space in the NFL at $48.8 million.While the Bengals defense was good enough to reach the Super Bowl—and come within a few plays of winning it all—it did struggle at times against the pass. Cincinnati ranked 26th in passing yards allowed and 21st in yards per pass attempt allowed.The Bengals are also set to potentially lose cornerbacks Vernon Hargreaves, Eli Apple, Tre Flowers, Jalen Davis and Darius Phillips in free agency. Reloading with Ward would make a ton of sense."
Bengals Free Agency: Charvarius Ward needs to be on the radar
As Knox mentions, the stripes absolutely have the money to spend on Ward, which Kansas City can’t really say. When you consider that the Chiefs have to decide who to keep between Ward, Orlando Brown, and Tyrann Mathieu, one has to think that at least one of those guys is hitting the open market.
With Ward being 25 years old (and turning 26 in May) and playing a key position like cornerback, he’s not going to come cheap. The Bengals make sense as a landing spot for him because they have the money available and also could use a cornerback with the aforementioned players leaving in free agency as well as Trae Waynes likely getting cut.
Some fans might have flashbacks to Ja’Marr Chase totally dominating Ward during the Week 17 game in Cincinnati and wonder why the guy would be a popular name to target. Knox mentions in his write-up that Ward has struggled with consistency but when push comes to shove, he’s a young promising option at a position the team needs to upgrade at.
What do you think, Bengals fans? Is Charvarius Ward someone the team should target in free agency?