Talanoa Hufanga’s Emergence Is Huge For The San Francisco 49ers In More Ways Than One

Second-year safety Talanoa Hufanga came away with his second interception of the 2022 season Monday evening against the Los Angeles Rams as his San Francisco 49ers imposed their will in a matchup with the defending Super Bowl champions.

The USC product returned said interception of Matthew Stafford 52 yards for a touchdown. He stepped in front of reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp, sealing a dominating 24-9 win for a 49ers team that was in desperate need of a victory.

“You could see moments when he was just a guy and now he’s just taken a hold of his role and run away with it,” 49ers All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner told reporters after the game.

This was one of those moments. San Francisco found itself up just 17-9 despite dominating the trenches on both sides of the ball. Just over two minutes prior, Robbie Gould had missed a 42-yard field goal that would’ve given San Francisco a two-score lead roughly halfway through the final quarter.

For some, a nervous energy was starting to kick in following Los Angeles’ comeback win over the 49ers in last season’s NFC Championship Game as San Francisco looked to avoid a 1-3 start to the campaign. It was a game-changing play, one that will continue to define Hufanga’s career from here on out.

Talanoa Hufanga: From Fifth-Round Afterthought To Legitimate Star

If you had asked the average fan who Hufanga was leading up to the 2020 NFL Draft, most would’ve given you a quizzical look. He was a little-known safety from the Pacific Northwest who had been misused during his time with the USC Trojans.

Hufanga, 23, ended up falling to San Francisco with the 180th overall pick in the fifth round of that year’s draft. He played 15 games as a rookie (three starts) while displaying some of the dominance we’ve seen thus far during his sophomore campaign.

But when the 49ers opted not to re-sign longtime starting strong safety Jaquiski Tartt, there was some concern over whether the 6-foot defensive back had the experience to take over a starting role for a championship contender. Once free safety Jimmie Ward was placed on injured reserve to open the 2022 season, there was obvious concern that San Francisco’s safety situation could be its Achilles’ heel on defense.

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Heading into Monday night’s game against Los Angeles, that obviously wasn’t the case. Through the first three games of the season, Hufanga yielded a 40% completion mark and 48.7 QB rating when targeted.

From a national perspective, Hufanga’s performance flew under the radar primarily due to San Francisco’s 1-2 start to the season and its ugly “Sunday Night Football” loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 3.

That was not the case taking on the defending champion Rams on Monday night. He sealed an absolutely huge win with San Francisco’s defense acting as the centerpiece.

San Francisco’s dominance in the secondary can’t be overstated given how talented its defensive line is. That came out in full force as DeMeco Ryans’ unit held Los Angeles to three field goals in the 15-point victory.

“I ain’t gonna lie. It’s awesome just being a back end and having a guy like DeMeco call things up. I think it was just outstanding,” Hufanga on the 49ers’ defensive scheme.

Nick Bosa racked up 14 pressures of Matthew Stafford. He spearheaded a defensive front that sacked Stafford seven times while hitting the Super Bowl-winning quarterback 11 times.

That type of pressure will help playmakers such as Hufanga do his thing in the back end. Through four games, this has been the case with opposing quarterbacks having thrown two touchdowns against four interceptions.

A Young And Cheap Talanoa Hufanga Changes The Dynamics

San Francisco opted against signing a veteran strong safety once it became apparent that Tartt wasn’t going to return. Whether the front office believed that Hufanga would look like an All-Pro or was just trying to cut financial corners remains to be seen.

What we do know is that the 49ers now have one of the better safeties in the NFL locked up with a total cap hit of $3 million over the next three seasons.

“You keep getting pick sixes, you gonna get paid, too,” Warner told Hufanga after Monday’s game.

Luckily for the 49ers and their front office, that can’t come until after the 2023 season. Until then, San Francisco has an All-Pro level performer on the cheap who has not even topped out yet.

For all of the misses we’ve seen from general manager John Lynch and Co. during the draft, their ability to find mid-to-late round talent is second to none in the NFL.

Picking up someone like Hufanga in the fifth round is the surest way of roster building, especially after exhausting multiple first-round picks on injured quarterback Trey Lance. He follows a long line of mid-round gems including the aforementioned Warner and George Kittle.

Heading into Week 5, it has San Francisco’s defense as the best in the game. This unit by itself has yielded 37 points in four games. It now gets to go up against Baker Mayfield and a league-worst Carolina Panthers offense next Sunday.

There’s no reason to believe that Hufanga won’t be prepared to make more game-changing plays while earning the reputation as one of the best young defensive players in the league. Monday night was just an appetizer. The main course has yet to come. And it has San Francisco’s brass feeling like it’s being served filet mignon at a Top Ramen price.