It’s one thing to look at Charvarius Ward’s 10 career interceptions and 60 pass break-ups, or Cam Bynum’s 233 tackles plus five interceptions and 14 pass break-ups over the last two seasons. Those easily-identifiable numbers are, for both big-ticket Colts free agent signings, the product of certain intangible traits.
Ward, the veteran cornerback, has built a career on a fearless, confident “dog mentality,” as head coach Shane Steichen put it. Even as an undrafted free agent scrapping to try to make the Dallas Cowboys’ roster in 2018, Ward didn’t back down from a challenge.
The Colts will embrace Ward’s unshakeable confidence in 2025, with the plan to have the 28-year-old follow a team’s No. 1 receiver around the field.
“(He has) the lockdown capability one-on-one,” Steichen said. “You got really good wideouts in this league and you want a guy to go lock him down and cover one-on-one, and he’s the guy that can do that. Obviously an All-Pro a couple years ago. Just a hell of a competitor. You see it on film, he’s got some dog in him, which I love.”
In years past, the Colts have had their cornerbacks stick on either the left or right of the formation, or have assigned roles for field-side and boundary-side cornerbacks. Those roles did not change based on an opposing team’s receivers.
Most teams, by the way, don’t have a cornerback who’s able to travel with an opponent’s No. 1 receiver. Those players are hard to find. The Colts believe they found one in Ward, who’s traveled to cover star wideouts like Ja’Marr Chase (two targets, zero receptions against Ward in a 2023 49ers vs. Bengals game) and Amon-Ra St. Brown (one target, one reception, seven yards against Ward in the 2023 NFC Championship), among others.
For an offensive play caller – as Steichen, one himself, explained – having to account for a cornerback taking away your top pass-catcher forces teams to operate differently than the way they may prefer.
“I think corners and pass rushers, those are guys that affect the quarterback, and that’s why they make a lot of money,” Steichen said. “So to get a guy like him in our building that can lock down the No. 1 receiver is going to be huge.”
Bynum, too, brings a certain mentality to the Colts’ defense – and it goes beyond the ebullient safety’s viral dances. The Colts saw Bynum as an ideal fit for defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo because of his high football IQ and ability unlock multiple coverages in the secondary.
“Obviously you want to be multiple on that back end, so you gotta have a guy that’s the quarterback on the back end,” Steichen said. “And I think Bynum does a good job communicating, just watching him on film. But now getting him in Lou’s system, I think is going to be really good for the scheme that he wants to run.”
Anarumo, while with the Cincinnati Bengals, deployed a healthy mix of coverages and had plenty of success – especially when he had veterans like Vonn Bell and Jessie Bates Jr. at safety.
The Colts will sort through the rest of their secondary in the coming weeks and months, with Nick Cross returning at safety and three younger cornerbacks with starting experience in Jaylon Jones (27 starts), JuJu Brents (nine starts) and Sam Womack III (nine starts).
But with three seasoned veterans in Ward, Bynum and Kenny Moore II – all with their own blend of confidence, instincts, football IQ and talent – the Colts have high expectations for their secondary in 2025.