These 49ers have impressed us most over first 4 weeks of 2022

49ers Standout No. 2: Safety Talanoa Hufanga

The Niners have had a habit of hitting on fifth-round picks in recent years. Tight end George Kittle, linebacker Dre Greenlaw and cornerback Samuel Womack have been some of the picks made in the round who have either gone on to great success or shown great potential.

Safety Talanoa Hufanga came into 2022 as an unknown, with San Francisco fans not even sure if he would start over Tarvarius Moore or not.

Safe to say that a month later, the entire league knows his name.

It’s hard not to see Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu in Hufanga in both his style of play and his appearance. Hufanga’s pick-six against the Rams sealed the win, but it’s only been the icing on what’s been an exceptional month for the budding young star.

Hufanga trained with Polamalu in the offseason and it definitely showed. He’s been lightning all over the field, constantly making big play after big play and being a menace.

In the preseason, safety was considered the most significant defensive need and a big question mark on the roster. People were shocked the 49ers didn’t take a safety in the draft, but now we see why.

Hufanga has a total cap hit of only $3 million over the next three seasons. The Niners did a lot of good work to give them cap flexibility for the coming seasons, and Hufanga is one reason why.

But even more importantly, Hufanga looks like he could be a perennial strong safety for San Francisco this decade.