The San Francisco 49ers made a surprise change to their starting defensive lineup against the New England Patriots.
Rookie safety Malik Mustapha would make his debut start in place of Talanoa Hufanga who was inactive. It was a bit of a surprise because the 49ers had been going with veteran safety George Odum before Hufanga returned in Week 3.
The 49ers made the right call in starting Mustapha over Odum. He is the better safety with untapped potential. However, there is one area that Mustapha needs to immediately improve on if he wants to continue to have a role on the defense. He needs to improve on his tackling, especially in goal-line situations.
That is where Mustapha has shown to be a liability. It was on display in the preseason and was his most glaring weakness. He didn’t have that issue against the Patriots since there weren’t any goal-line opportunities for that. But he did show his tackling inability early in the game when he whiffed badly on a third-down play. It allowed the Patriots to convert for a first down and sustain the drive.
“I think Malik did real well. He missed that first third-down tackle, it’s the only play I feel like he’d like to have back,” said Kyle Shanahan.
“After that, he made a number of good plays. I know he dropped that pick which I know he’d love to have that back too, but I thought he was one of the main reasons Fred scored on his interception return. Just how he came out of the middle of the field and led that block on their offensive lineman. He was flying around, got to the quarterback, him and [DL Nick] Bosa together on a, I think it was a second-and-10, where he had a really good play. But I was real happy with how he played.”
Mustapha has a lot of raw talent, which makes him a double-edged sword. His current ability allows him to make an impact immediately for the 49ers, but there are areas, like his tackling skills, that need to improve for him to be a well-rounded starter.
If he is able to sure up some of those raw skills, then there is a case to be made that he could start over Hufanga. For now, he is a player the 49ers can rely upon in stretches of the game. He has the speed for adequate range as a coverage safety and the aggression to run downhill in run support.
But that aggression is moot if he continues to whiff. That needs to get cleaned up first and foremost. Otherwise, offenses will use that flaw to go at him to generate chunk plays.
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