The 49ers safety has been all over the field during the first two weeks of the preseason.
The San Francisco 49ers have seen their rookie class start to come on strong early in their careers, as several players have made an impact this offseason, with a few even trending or being close to earning a starting job.
Of the eight picks that San Francisco made in the 2024 NFL Draft, you could tell that some were tailored for the future with the team having a number of key pending free agents after the season.
Among that group? Safety Malik Mustapha, who is a strong candidate to replace starter Talanoa Hufanga, should he leave in free agency after 2024.
Mustapha, a fourth-round pick out of Wake Forest, was heralded by many around the draft for his aggressive style, which the 49ers seemed to covet as a potential Hufanga replacement.
Over this offseason, while working exclusively with the second-team defense, Mustapha has gotten a ton of opportunities, both during training camp and the two preseason games that San Francisco has played in so far.
Where does the safety need to improve in the final game of the preseason?
“I think there were two [missed tackles on Sunday],” defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen said about Mustapha’s mistakes. “Both of them were kind of on the sideline. One of them, he kind of got tripped a little bit if you watch it and then another one he’s just got to trust it and keep going. I don’t think he overran it. I think he just needs to trust.”
“And that’s our tackling style of understanding that he can just keep triggering and go. He’s already shown that he can do that. So now it’s when someone shows that they can do something, alright, we’re more concerned with what you can do. Let’s try and do that as much as possible.”
Mustapha has a knack for making plays, as seen by his major fourth down stop in Week 1 of the preseason against the Tennessee Titans.
Now, it’s all about putting all the pieces together and letting the game slow down by becoming more instinctual, which should come with added reps for the rookie.
Mustapha’s development will be key as Talanoa Hufanga is still recovering from his torn ACL injury, with his status for Week 1 still in question.
Hufanga, who was cleared last week according to Kyle Shanahan, will not practice again this week, with all cards on the table currently for the 49ers.
“That’s still up for discussion right now,” Shanahan said about keeping Hufanga on the PUP List come Week 1. “He got cleared last week, so it’s been good that he can do real football drills and stuff, with the trainers and everything. He’s been going a lot harder with that. I think two days on, two days off. Hopefully it goes real good this week and maybe we could ease him into practice next week.”
After he does return to practice, is there is a set number of days required before the safety will be a full go for games?
“I think it just depends on the player,” defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen said. “He’s got a lot of experience. So with someone like Huf, you would trust him. As long as once he comes back and he’s communicating like he did, he’s moving like he did. You can trust what you’re seeing, but also what they’re telling you in their comfort level. It would be different than someone who’s new or someone who’s played eight years. So I think with him, it’s once he feels good and ready to go, we’ll go with that.”
If Hufanga cannot go for Week 1, Mustapha would likely be the top safety off the bench, which could earn him some playing time on top of special teams assignments.