Chicago Bears draft profile: Cornerback Denzel Ward

Strengths

If you had taken Ward and put him in a body two inches taller and 10-15 pounds heavier, he’d be a top-five pick in this draft without question.

And even though that’s not the case, he’s such a tremendous athletic that it cancels out a ton of concerns.

Everyone knows about the speed, of course.

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But unlike with many athletes, he’s not necessarily “more fast than quick”€ or vice versa. He’s both fast and quick, meaning that he can get up to speed and react suddenly in short areas along with having the long speed to run with a man down the field or recover after being beaten.

That, and his explosiveness is simply ridiculous (39-inch vertical and 136-inch broad jump). If you’re going to play outside as a shorter corner, you’d better have some ups. And Ward does. In spades.

But he’s more than just a runner and jumper, of course. And it’s the little things he does that make him the best corner in his draft.

Ward can mirror receivers exceptionally well thanks to his quick feet, and he doesn’t typically get lost in coverage or beaten by double moves. He always finds his way around the football.

And even with his less-than-stellar size and length, he still finds ways to make plays on the ball. In particular, he’s great at getting his arms/hands into receivers as they come down with the football to jar it loose.

What do you think guys? Should we try him again?

Probably not.

Also, don’t look at his frame and automatically think he plays soft. That explosiveness doesn’t just show up in a foot race or in the air. When he comes up to make a hit on throws in front of him, he can be a guided missile.

Very Kyle Fuller-esque, no?

Now, you might be thinking that he projects best as a slot corner long-term because of his speed and size. And perhaps he does; interestingly, Chris Harris Jr. is listed as one of his best player comparisons at this point.

But his combination of raw athletic ability and instincts in coverage absolutely give him a fair chance to succeed outside the numbers in the NFL.