Why Charvarius Ward Will Have Success Guarding Mike Evans

49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward finds himself a fairly favorable matchup with Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans.

Handling the Tampa Bay Buccaneers shouldn't be too much trouble for the San Francisco 49ers this week.

However, one player on the Buccaneers who gives every team fits is wide receiver Mike Evans. He's one of the better wide receivers in the league and is coming off a 6 catch, 143 yard and one touchdown performance. Evans is riding high right now, which doesn't bode well for the 49ers. Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks spoke of the matchup nightmare that Evans presents. 

“It is tough, big body guy. You try to sit here and you press him, he's going to muscle you at the line of scrimmage, you play off, very deceptive speed, he's going to run by you. So again, we got to mix things up, from a standpoint of man-zone, getting our hands on these receivers and just try really trying to be physical.” Wilks said.

Evans makes most defensive backs look silly, but I actually think that cornerback Charvarius Ward will have success guarding him. Ward struggles the most with the speedy and shifty receivers. He simply cannot keep up with those type of receivers. Evans, however, isn't that style of receiver. He's more of a possession guy who likes to stretch vertically down the field. Ward likes to play physically so he can dig into his receiver and throw off the timing of the play. 

But he ends up paying for it if he doesn't execute it well against speedy receivers. One mishap with getting physical or staying in front and it's "bye bye!" for Ward. Against Evans, he should be able to handle it since Evans doesn't have that breakaway speed. Really, the only thing that will ruin Ward's day is if he starts committing penalties. Every week he registers at least one now. It's something Wilks is trying to work with Ward on this week. 

"He has outstanding feet, and when he moves his feet, in what I call in phased position, we don't have to grab," said Wilks. "So we're trying to get away from that a little bit and just really trying to emphasize more of his technique and how that's going to help develop him within the course of the rep.” 

I like this matchup for Ward if he locks in and keeps the penalties away. As the saying for combat sports goes, "styles make fights" and I believe this style benefits Ward. A solid performance against Evans can go a long way for his confidence this season.