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The 49ers selected safety Talanoa Hufanga with the No. 180. Hufanga feels like more of a hybrid type of player who lives and excels around the line of scrimmage. Hufanga is a player who plays with a ton of confidence and has an alpha mentality.
He’s physical and aggressive, sometimes in ways that hurt him. There’s no denying Hufanga’s playmaking skills, though. In 20 targets last year, Hufanga had four INTs and five pass breakups. The ball finds him.
If DeMeco Ryans plans to run a lot of dime defense, then Hufanga is an ideal fit. He can blitz, cover, and tackle. You don’t want Hufanga playing the deep third, but that’s what Jimmie Ward, Tarvarius Moore, and Jaquiski Tartt are on the roster for.
Hufanga did not test well:
Talanoa Hufanga was drafted with pick 180 of round 5 in the 2021 draft class. He scored a 5.77 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 321 out of 757 SS from 1987 to 2021. https://t.co/CFf3DWvmje #RAS #49ers pic.twitter.com/SF1MukpxVa
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) May 1, 2021
He also has a serious injury history, which is why he was still available.
Hufanga suffered a broken collarbone as a freshman, concussion and shoulder sprain in ‘19 but no issues in 2020 when he won Pac 12 DPOY honors. At this point in the draft, it’s a low-risk, high-reward scenario for the Niners.