The San Francisco 49ers had a plethora of draft picks heading into the 2014 draft and very few needs. This lied everyone to believe they would trade up at least in the first to draft whichever player they coveted. As it turned out, they didn’t need to do that. Possibly the best safety in the draft fell to them at pick number 30. That safety is Jimmie Ward out of Northern Illinois.

Ward is an extremely versatile player. Right now he is listed as strong safety but can play the nickel cornerback position very well and is best utilized when playing free safety. Right now the 49ers have Eric Reid at free safety and newly acquired Antoine Bethea at strong safety. Bethea has enough skills and experience to probably hold on to that position for this season, but probably as soon as next year the 49ers will move Reid over to strong safety and Ward into the free safety spot so he is able to play centerfield.

But for the 2014 season Ward will be behind Bethea on the depth chart and have to learn from him. Besides playing safety Ward will see a lot of time at cornerback in their nickel package. This is extremely helpful for the 49ers this season because in their nickel package they never had to substitute players. NaVorro Bowman would be able to stay on the field and he was able to cover someone. But with Bowman out for most likely at least half of the season, the 49ers wouldn’t be able to keep his replacement (likely Michael Wilhoite or Chris Borland) on the field in the nickel package. With Ward on the team, he can come in and cover just about anybody on the field. His ball skills and instincts are extremely good, so he will probably get his fair share of turnovers too.

Another role he could possibly have this season is in a three safety package. These types of defenses are becoming more and more popular in the NFL. Bethea, Ward, and Reid are all extremely smart players and would work very well together. Ward would most likely be the safety playing the middle zone and would have the most area to cover. He will thrive in a role like this.

Ward fits the 49ers’ MO. He’s smart and extremely versatile. They can use him as their nickel corner (something the needed a huge improvement at), their future free safety, and as the centerfielder in a three safety set. His instincts are incredible and can be compared to those of Tyrann Mathieu. They are both players that always find themselves near the play making a move for the ball. Look for Ward to make a sizeable impact in the 2014 season and as he learns from a seasoned veteran like Bethea, to make even more of an impact.