SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers appear to have their two starting safeties already in place, but there are questions about a player who's just one season removed from earning All-Pro honors.
Safety Talanoa Hufanga is returning from a torn ACL that he sustained last November. He's also set to enter the final year of his contract.
So, perhaps with an eye to the future, the 49ers on Saturday selected Wake Forest safety Malik Mustapha with the No. 124 overall pick in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. The 49ers acquired the pick from the Dallas Cowboys last year in exchange for quarterback Trey Lance, who was San Francisco's 2021 first-round selection.
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Mustapha (5-foot-10, 206 pounds) started in all 22 games in which he appeared over the past two seasons, and he was a second-team All-ACC performer and a team captain. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.54 seconds at his pro day, and should have a chance to immediately impact the 49ers' special-teams coverage units as a rookie.
The 49ers spent their first selection last year on Penn State safety Ji’Ayir Brown. Due to trades for Lance and Christian McCaffrey, the 49ers didn't have picks in the first two rounds of the 2023 draft, and they traded up to choose Brown in the third round at No. 87 overall.
Brown played in 15 regular-season games last season and made five starts, with two interceptions. He also started in Super Bowl LVIII, and intercepted a Patrick Mahomes pass in the third quarter of the 49ers' 25-22 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
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Hufanga enters his fourth NFL season after coming to the 49ers in 2021 as a fifth-round draft pick out of USC. After a rookie season in which his role primarily was on special teams, Hufanga had a huge 2022 season. He intercepted four passes, scored a touchdown, had two sacks, forced two fumbles and was named All-Pro.
However, Hufanga sustained a season-ending knee injury in Week 11 of last season. 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said last month that he anticipates Hufanga being cleared to resume football activity at some point during training camp, most likely in August.
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