The 49ers don’t have many defensive weaknesses, but there’s an easy upgrade still available to them on the free-agent market.
The San Francisco 49ers should, barring a 2020-like swarm of injuries, boast yet another top-notch defense in 2024.
However, as general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan have always said, the Niners will never cease to upgrade all positions possible when possible.
One of the few areas of the defense where there remain some question marks heading into the new season is within the secondary, specifically at safety. Currently, San Francisco has four prime candidates for the two starting jobs: Talanoa Hufanga, Ji’Ayir Brown, George Odum and the rookie, Malik Mustapha.
But Hufanga is coming off a torn ACLsuffered in the second half of 2023, while Odum is primarily a special teams ace. Mustapha has yet to prove anything at the NFL level.
