The 49ers made Wake Forest safety Malik Mustapha the 124th overall pick in the 2024 draft. He may not start on Day 1, but there should be a long-term role available for him beyond the 2024 season.
Watching highlights of Mustapha makes it clear why San Francisco loves his upside. There won’t be a ton of electric athletic flashes, but he is an outstanding, instinctual football player who is able to constantly be around the football despite not having the elite speed traits teams may typically look for at safety.
Mustapha has enough athleticism to cover tight ends and wide receivers in short areas, but his calling card is the thump he brings as a tackler, and that shows up constantly in his highlight reels:
Sit back and watch some Malik Mustapha highlights 🍿 pic.twitter.com/mP8pcEpYrk
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) April 27, 2024
Malik Mustapha is straight up the best tackler in the 2024 NFL Draft, pound for pound.#49ers got a DAWG. pic.twitter.com/TOVcnWB61b
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) April 27, 2024
If the NFL doesn’t work out for Malik Mustapha, he can run clinics on form tackling pic.twitter.com/DXbkiR9934
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) April 25, 2024
Steal for the 49ers with Malik Mustapha. Violent player and maybe the best tackler in the class. Explosive downhill missile pic.twitter.com/gwD8LtOAxP
— Bobby Football (@Rob__Paul) April 27, 2024
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