There may not be a position on the 49ers’ roster with more variance than safety. On the surface they look set with starters and depth, but they may also need to bring in another starter by training camp.
The answer to whether they should bring in another starting-caliber safety comes down to two factors.
First is Talanoa Hufanga’s health. The strong safety tore his ACL in Week 11 and the team sounds confident he’ll be ready to play during training camp. However, it’s unclear at exactly what point he’ll be available to participate in camp. And when he does return there’s no guarantee he’ll be the All-Pro caliber player he was over the last couple seasons. If he’s healthy and contributing at a high level, San Francisco’s depth should be fine.
If Hufanga is not ready to play, the second factor comes into play. Experience is in short supply on the 49ers’ roster at safety. Second-year third-round pick Ji’Ayir Brown started only five games last regular season and was benched for the divisional round of the playoffs before starting the NFC championship game and Super Bowl. He did acquit himself well which explains San Francisco’s optimism about him, but his ability to step in and be a starter is still a question mark.
The next man up behind Brown appears to be rookie fourth-round pick Malik Mustapha. While Mustapha looks the part of a do-everything safety for the 49ers, his ability to play in the NFL is still a sizable question mark. After the Brown-Mustapha pairing the depth gets a lot thinner and features mainly special teams contributors.
It doesn’t sound like San Francisco is interested in bringing in a starter. And that makes sense since they’re optimistic about Hufanga’s availability for the regular season. If Hufanga can play, Brown can start alongside him and the team can bring Mustapha along slowly the same way they did with Brown. If he’s unavailable or if one of Mustapha or Brown don’t look prepared to contribute, then they may look to add another starting-caliber player to the mix.
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