Safety might be the San Francisco 49ers' biggest roster concern and weakness entering 2026, primarily because the front office elected to do very little to address the shortages.
Two-year pro Malik Mustapha wasn't exactly part of the would-be solution a year ago. The 2024 fourth-round pick appeared to be a stud his rookie season, flashing some hard-hitting abilities and prowess against the run. But, after suffering a torn ACL to close out his rookie year, Mustapha's sophomore campaign was more inconsistent than anything else.
That said, it's reasonable to expect Mustapha could turn things around in 2026, and training camp should be a primary tool for evaluation.
Malik Mustapha's regression in 2025
The ACL injury certainly hindered the defensive back, limiting him to just 12 games and likely impacting how effective he was on the field.
One of the biggest liabilities Mustapha displayed was in coverage, allowing a whopping 116.9 passer rating with four touchdowns when targeted, compared to just 44.4 and one, respectively, his rookie season. He also saw a slight uptick in missed tackles, too, suggesting all wasn't quite right with his game.
Games | Starts | Completion Percentage | Yards per Completion | Passer Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | 16 | 12 | 35.0 | 11.9 | 44.4 |
2025 | 12 | 10 | 66.7 | 15.0 | 116.9 |
Granted, Mustapha and fellow safety Ji'Ayir Brown might have been victims of the Niners' inept pass rush, which generated a league-low 20 sacks on the year, putting even more pressure on the secondary to keep pace with receiving targets for longer periods of time.
Regardless, Mustapha quickly went from a promising day-three draft gem to a bit of a disappointment between just two years.
Training camp may reveal whether Malik Mustapha bounces back
Without seeming like true ACL experts here, it's common for players coming off such an injury to spend the next active season getting reacclimated to the knee's full use. Players often have to learn to trust the knee again after a major injury, surgery and lengthy recovery, and it's frequent to see those efforts limit a player's true impact.
In short, players coming off ACL tears can spend a full year effectively learning to use that knee again after already spending another year in the immediate post-injury period.
For a defensive back like Mustapha, who has to use his knees to suddenly change direction, speed up, slow down, jump and stop, all the while reacting to opposing players instead of dictating his own movements, it can be a much bigger challenge.
2025 might not have been great for Mustapha, but that recovery window is closed now, meaning he should be able to display a fully healthy knee as soon as practices kick off in training camp. If he's visibly at full speed, changing direction and stopping on a proverbial dime, it'll be an excellent sign Mustapha is back in full form.
Plus, San Francisco hopes a revamped pass rush takes a lot of the pressure off its defensive backs, Mustapha included, meaning he should be able to play based on his natural instincts.
Training camp should give a pretty good indication of those prospects, too, making him one of the key players to watch when practices (especially the padded ones) finally kick off.
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