49ers' Week 14 depth chart move hints at bad news for second-year starter
By Peter Panacy
The 49ers opted to start Talanoa Hufanga and Malik Mustapha at safety in Week 14, which doesn't bode well for second-year pro Ji'Ayir Brown.
The San Francisco 49ers have grown somewhat accustomed to hot-start rookies who ultimately turned into flameouts a year thereafter.
Case in point, defensive backs Ahkello Witherspoon and Adrian Colbert flashed during their first years at the pro level in 2017, while wide receiver Dante Pettis was strong down the stretch a year later.
None of those three proved to be reliable pieces, though.
The Niners seem to have gone through something similar with second-year safety Ji'Ayir Brown, who made a name for himself late in 2023 after being drafted in Round 3 out of Penn State. When San Francisco's starter, Talanoa Hufanga, suffered a season-ending ACL tear halfway through that season, Brown was the go-to option and seemed to cement his role as a full-time starter going forward.
Except that development didn't pan out.
49ers opt to bench Ji'Ayir Brown in Week 14 vs. Bears
The 49ers have dealt with plenty of injuries over the course of 2024, and their injury report for Week 14's home contest against the Chicago Bears wasn't particularly great.
But the Niners did have some good news, welcoming Hufanga back off injured reserve after he suffered a wrist injury earlier in the year.
Hufanga was given his starting job back, but it was Brown who ultimately got shown the bench with rookie safety Malik Mustapha getting the start opposite Hufanga.
Talanoa Hufanga indeed will start today’s game.
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) December 8, 2024
What this means is that rookie Malik Mustapha has leapfrogged Ji’Ayir Brown on the depth chart. This is Brown’s first non-start of the season.
Brown has struggled this year, yes. In total, he's already missed five tackles on the season and was arguably the primary culprit in Buffalo Bills running back James Cook's 65-yard touchdown run in the Week 13 loss at Highmark Stadium.
San Francisco can simply hope Brown is suffering a little bit of a regression in 2024 and can bounce back between now and next year.
But, the 49ers' top pick from the 2023 draft going through significant struggles to the point of being benched isn't a great sign going forward.
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