The 49ers are heading into 2026 with a familiar hope at safety: get the rookie version of Malik Mustapha back.
Mustapha made an immediate impression in 2024, the kind of first-year run that sticks with a fan base. The hard-hitting defensive back, who grew up rooting for the Niners, delivered a handful of splash plays during a season that was otherwise rough for San Francisco. Then came the news that he tore his ACL in the regular-season finale, and that naturally raised questions about what his second NFL season would look like.
Those questions turned out to be fair ones. Mustapha was limited to 12 games in 2025, and he simply didn’t look like the same player he had been as a rookie.
That’s why San Francisco is counting on a rebound in 2026. The 49ers have real uncertainty at safety, with no obvious answer yet for the starting duo.
Mustapha is expected to be part of that mix, but Ji'Ayir Brown, Marques Sigle and even Ashtyn Davis are all in the conversation. Sorting out the best pairing matters, and Mustapha has to do his part.
The drop-off from his rookie year was clear in the numbers. In 2024, quarterbacks targeting him produced a 44.4 passer rating and completed just 35.0 percent of their throws. In 2025, those figures climbed to 116.9 and 66.7.
There are reasons to soften the judgment a bit. Returning from a torn ACL is one thing; playing like yourself immediately after it is another. Mustapha may simply have been working his way back into comfort on the knee throughout 2025.
He also wasn’t helped by the pass rush in front of him. San Francisco’s inability to get consistent pressure put extra strain on the secondary, and Mustapha felt that heat along with everyone else. The 49ers’ efforts to improve the pass rush this offseason should help take some of that burden off.
Even so, Mustapha looks like a key piece of the revamped defense. If he can get back to the level he showed as a rookie, it would give the 49ers a major lift in 2026.
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