A compelling case could be made for Charvarius Ward, affectionately known as "Mooney" to teammates, to earn his first Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors this season. The San Francisco 49ers cornerback has been consistently delivering standout performances.
Opposing quarterbacks own a 60.7 passer rating when targeting Ward. This season's 84.5 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus marks the best of his career. Ward showcased his skill with two interceptions during Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals, one of which he returned for a 66-yard touchdown.
Notably, Ward was targeted four times in the game and did not allow a single reception.
General manager John Lynch joined Bay Area radio station KNBR on Tuesday morning and was asked if he believes this is the best Ward has played in a 49ers uniform.
"I do. I think he's been awesome," Lynch responded on the "Murph and Markus" show. "I felt like he'd been good all year. I think he took a big uptick on Thanksgiving Day when we played against Seattle. [WR] DK Metcalf, that matchup always seems to bring the best out of Mooney, and I think it did. And he's taken his game to a different level."
Ward effectively limited DK Metcalf to just one reception for 14 yards on six targets during the Thanksgiving matchup against the Seattle Seahawks.
"I love Mooney, the person," Lynch continued. "He's talked a lot about becoming a father and how that's changed his life. But I think there's just a true want to be great."
Following the 45-29 victory over the Cardinals on Sunday, Ward discussed his focus on converting pass breakups into interceptions, leading to his first career pick-six.
"I had a big smile on my face, probably for the whole first half after that touchdown," Ward said. "I feel like I made a great play. Thank God, first of all. Two picks -- first time they ever happened in my career, even high school and college and junior college. So I'm definitely happy and thankful for that."
Ward credited the assistance of backup quarterback Sam Darnold, who dedicated extra time last week to help him prepare.
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"It's different when a quarterback's throwing the ball to you rather than your coach throwing about you," Ward explained. "It's a different spin on it. So I caught some balls from Sam Darnold, and I'm probably going to do that every week now for sure."
Lynch commended Ward for his relentless pursuit of improvement and desire to turn the pass breakups into opportunities to put points on the scoreboard.
"Having a lot of PBUs means you're around the ball, but he saw an opportunity to become [more]," Lynch said. "A lot of DB coaches say, 'Hey, that's a good play. You want to make it a great play? Now, pick it off.' And so I think he saw that as the next progression in his game. To his credit, he did what great players do: go work at that skill."
Regarding the pick-six, Lynch remarked, "That was a huge play. It looked like we were going to be in a shootout because their offense was clicking early. Our offense was clicking, but Moody kind of changed it there with that pick-six. And man, that was an impressive play. And then the way he caught the second one, both great hands catches, and can't say enough.
"That's a guy who we thought, coming off the [second] Seattle game, ending that game injured, we thought it was very questionable as to whether he'd play [against the Cardinals]. And he never blinked about wanting to play. Late in the week, started to feel like it was a real possibility, and he picked us up in a huge way."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.
