The San Francisco 49ers selected former Wake Forest safety Malik Mustapha in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. The rookie defender joins a group that includes All-Pro Talanoa Hufanga and second-year safety Ji'Ayir Brown.
Mustapha tallied 80 tackles, including five for a loss, 0.5 sacks, two passes defensed, an interception, and a forced fumble through 12 games in 2023, per Sports Reference. His overall grade of 79.6 and coverage grade of 72.1 from Pro Football Focus this past season were career highs.
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What may have particularly impressed the 49ers was Mustapha's performance against the run, earning an 87.5 run-defense grade from the analytics site. Pro Football Focus analyst Trevor Sikkema singled out Mustapha as his favorite selection by the 49ers.
"The Mustapha pick stood out because it felt like the Niners' defense changed when Talanoa Hufanga got hurt last year; they lacked an enforcer type to roam the middle of the defense," Sikkema explained. "Even though I am not convinced Mustapha is a full-time starter, he does give the 49ers that role if Hufanga were to ever miss time again. To me, that is added value for where they got him, specifically on Day 3."
Throughout his three collegiate seasons, Mustapha racked up 175 tackles, including 15 for a loss, four sacks, seven passes defensed, three interceptions, and four forced fumbles.
"One thing with him, it was clear right away, all his testing indicated it, but when you talked with the young man, he understands football at a high level," general manager John Lynch said of the selection of Mustapha. "He's built like an Adonis and he just plays football the right way in my mind and in our mind. And really cool to make him part of our team. He was a team captain at Wake Forest, and we liked everything he brought to the table."
Mustapha is eager to learn from his new coaches and teammates as he adapts to the role of an eraser on defense. During his collegiate career, he even studied one of the 49ers' safeties.
"Being able to be coached by good coaches that helped my playing ability at the next level, is something that's going to help me become more of an eraser," Mustapha said. "Looking at film from guys like Hufanga is something that I looked at a lot during my time at Wake Forest, picking up gems from him as well. He's one of the best erasers in the game of football, and I know that learning from him, and then picking up where he left off, and just learning from the veteran guys there, and earning the respect of everybody will help me to enhance my playing ability as well."
The selection may have caught Mustapha by surprise, as his only formal pre-draft meeting with the team occurred at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. However, he followed up with phone conversations with team scouts.
"It was awesome being able to meet [general manager] John Lynch, obviously, and the whole staff (in Indianapolis)," Mustapha shared. "Even [former 49ers RB and current advisor] Frank Gore was in there. He's someone that I grew up watching, and it was kind of a starstruck moment there. But it was definitely a good meeting with them, talking about my life and things like that."