49ers: 5 most competitive position battles so far at OTAs
By Peter Panacy
No. 2: 49ers have plenty of backup options at strong safety
Veteran safety Jaquiski Tartt missed a good portion of OTAs because of a toe injury, and it’s still unclear whether or not it’s related to the turf-toe injury that prematurely ended his 2020 campaign.
The 49ers figure to take things slowly with Tartt, who does have a lengthy injury history, meaning there’s plenty of chances for his numerous backups to assume a key reserve role at strong safety.
One of them, the Niners’ fifth-round drafted rookie Talanoa Hufanga, made some notable impressions in practice, according to Grant Cohn:
"Intercepted a well-thrown pass from Lance during 11-on-11s. Lance hit wide receiver Trent Sherfield in the hands near the sideline, but Hufanga snatched the ball out of Sherfield’s hands before he fell out of bounds. Incredible play. Hufanga finds interesting ways to make an impact."
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Hufanga, who had four interceptions over six games for USC last year, appears to be climbing up the depth chart over veterans like Tarvarius Moore, Tavon Wilson and Marcell Harris, and two of those latter three could easily be pushed off the roster by Week 1.
Given the physical nature of this position, we’ll only be able to truly assess how the position battle is panning out when the pads come on in training camp.
But for now, this group competition remains awfully enticing.