Denzel
Ward
CB
#21
Denzel Ward
#21CB
Cleveland Browns
Height : 5' 11" · Weight : 190 lbs · Age : 29
NFL record
| Year | Team | GP | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | FF | FR | YDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Cleveland Browns | 4 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | Cleveland Browns | 15 | 39 | 29 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | Cleveland Browns | 16 | 49 | 41 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | Cleveland Browns | 13 | 34 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | Cleveland Browns | 14 | 53 | 42 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 2021 | Cleveland Browns | 15 | 43 | 34 | 9 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | Cleveland Browns | 12 | 46 | 38 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | Cleveland Browns | 12 | 44 | 38 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 2018 | Cleveland Browns | 13 | 53 | 41 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 29 |
Contract
Cleveland Browns payroll →- 2026 cap number
- 19.05 M$
- Average per year
- 31.10 M$
- Total value
- 62.2 M$
- Seasons left
- 5 · through 2030
2026
19.05 M$
Guaranteed
2027
18.84 M$
Guaranteed
2028
41.32 M$
Not guaranteed
2029
41.48 M$
Not guaranteed
2030
11.61 M$
Not guaranteed
Cap number: the season's salary plus the share of the signing bonus spread over the contract. Total value and average per year cover the whole contract, from its signing.
Advanced stats, 2026 Cornerbacks
NFL stats →2026 season, in progress (4 games played). The percentile ranks the player among regular cornerbacks: 90th means better than 90% of them.
Interceptions
1
89th percentile
Passes defended
2
58th percentile
Targets in coverage
18
Yards allowed
91 yd
Yards allowed per target
5.1 yd
89th percentile
Passer rating allowed
88.0
58th percentile
Tackles
17
87th percentile
Missed tackle rate
7.1 %
81th percentile
Tackles for loss
0
31th percentile
Defensive snaps
270
99th percentile
Regular season. Data: nflverse (play-by-play, snap counts), Next Gen Stats, Pro Football Reference. EPA: expected points added. CPOE: completion percentage over expected.
2026 end-of-season projection
NFL trends →Projected WAR
0.2
Games
17
WAR 2026
0.1
Games played
4
WAR already earned, plus his pace (WAR per game over the last three seasons, 60/25/15, pulled toward the group average) over his team's remaining games, given his availability so far.
Trend
→ Stable (-1)
- 20230.7 WAR · 0.054 per game
- 2024-0.2 WAR · -0.013 per game
- 20250.4 WAR · 0.027 per game
- 20260.1 WAR · 0.025 per game
The trend compares this season's WAR per game with last season's, weighted by games played.
Outlook, age included
-1 · 29 y.o. · prime years
It is only a projection. It knows nothing about injuries, trades or role changes.
Player ratings, 2026
All ratings →Ratings from 0 to 100, computed over four seasons from data, never by hand, against regulars in the same position group. 75 = established regular, 87 = 90th percentile, 95+ = elite.
OV · Overall
86
High-end
- COV
- Coverage
- 86
- BAL
- Ball skills
- 85
- TCK
- Tackling
- 58
- DUR
- Durability
- 73
- EX
- Experience
- 79
Why these ratings?Hide details
- COV — Coverage : Yards and passer rating allowed per target
- BAL — Ball skills : Ball carrier: fumbles avoided. Defender: interceptions and passes defended
- TCK — Tackling : Tackles made and missed tackles
- DUR — Durability : Games played out of his team's, over several seasons
- EX — Experience : Seasons in the NFL
WAR and PAL Rating, 2026
How we rate →WAR: the EPA (expected points added) of every play, above replacement level, shared among those who made it, then converted to wins (35.3 points = one win). PAL Rating scores performance from 0 to 100 against regulars in the same group (50 = median).
WAR
0.1
#10 of 77 regular cornerbacks
PAL Rating
88 / 100
#10 of 77 regular cornerbacks
Value Rating · 2025
33 / 100
2025 PAL (41) against 2026 salary: the contract's average per year (APY), $31.1M.PAL expected for this salary: 63PAL: dimensions
Where WAR comes from (in wins)
Half the EPA of his sacks, interceptions, passes defended, forced fumbles, tackles for loss and QB hits, against his position's average per snap.
Yards allowed per target against his position's average, 0.12 points per yard (measured).
Replacement level: the share of defense the league spends on his position (by payroll), prorated by snaps.
How much better or worse than average his team's defense was (EPA allowed), minus what is already credited to players, prorated by snaps.
The individual part is splash plays and coverage. The rest is the position share and his team's defense, split by snaps played.
| Season | Team | G | WAR | PAL | OV | INT | PD | Yds/tgt | Rtg allowed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | CLE | 4 | 0.1 | 88 | 86 | 1 | 2 | 5.1 | 88.0 |
| 2025 | CLE | 15 | 0.4 | 41 | 79 | 1 | 9 | 6.1 | 88.1 |
| 2024 | CLE | 16 | -0.2 | 55 | 81 | 2 | 19 | 9.3 | 92.8 |
| 2023 | CLE | 13 | 0.7 | 91 | 87 | 2 | 11 | 5.1 | 56.2 |
| 2022 | CLE | 14 | 0.1 | 86 | 83 | 3 | 15 | 7.7 | 76.4 |
| 2021 | CLE | 15 | 0.7 | 87 | 88 | 3 | 10 | 5.6 | 76.6 |
Denzel Ward in five questions
What are Denzel Ward's stats in 2026?
Denzel Ward has 1 interception and 2 passes defensed in 4 games in 2026.
How old and how tall is Denzel Ward?
Denzel Ward is 29 years old. He is 5'11" (180 cm) and weighs 190 lb (86 kg).
How good is Denzel Ward?
Denzel Ward produced 0.1 wins above replacement (WAR) in 2026 (season in progress), 13th of 77 players at his position in the NFL. His PAL rating is 88 out of 100: excellent for his position.
What number does Denzel Ward wear, and what team does he play for?
Denzel Ward plays for Cleveland Browns in the NFL, at CB, and wears number 21.
What is Denzel Ward's projection for 2026?
Our projection has him at 0.2 WAR over the full 2026 season, based on his weighted recent seasons and age.
