49ers should bump these 3 players down the depth chart after Week 2

Safety George Odum

Veteran safety George Odum is in a similar position to the two players mentioned in the last section in that he's a good special teamer promoted way over his head by an injury to the starter at his position.

There's nothing wrong with Odum's play, per se. He has actually, largely, been in the right places at the right time, particularly in the Niners' Monday Night Football win over the New York Jets. But he's just extremely vanilla as a player and susceptible to poor plays in coverage, given his lack of range.

All-Pro Talanoa Hufanga's 2023 ACL injury costs San Francisco, but it's mostly seen in games like yesterday where a shot of adrenaline and playmaking ability could've been very useful, particularly against the run. More than that, Hufanga brings an energy to the back end of the team that seemed to be sorely lacking in Minnesota.

In fairness to Odum, being put in coverage against possibly the best receiver in the league, Justin Jefferson, was probably not something he expected. But it was still a pretty awful play by both him and his safety stablemate Ji'Ayir Brown, particularly as they looked like they were running through treacle in pursuit, even being outrun by the officiating crew.

The 49ers coaching staff clearly thought so, too, as he was benched following that play for rookie Malik Mustapha until returning in the second half.

The fact that Mustapha came in seems to indicate a desire for the Niners to add a little urgency and playmaking ability to the back end of the defense, not dissimilarly to how Hufanga found his way into San Francisco's starting lineup in his earlier years.

With Hufanga in line for an imminent return, too, Odum should see his playing time gradually decrease. While he's a solid player, his limited skill set and upside as a starting NFL safety should mean there are no surprises.