The 49ers have the best defense in the NFL. That’s hardly debatable. The Niners boast the best defensive line and linebacking units in the league. Their secondary flies under the radar, and that group has been seen as a liability in the past.
Not anymore.
You can thank Talanoa Hufanga for that. He burst onto the scene in 2022 with four interceptions during the first ten weeks of the season. Hufanga made more splash plays last year than arguably every other safety since Kyle Shanahan took over combined.
ESPN is continuing their player rankings, and Hufanga cracked the top-10 list for safeties:
Highest ranking: 6 | Lowest ranking: Unranked
Age: 23 | Last year’s ranking: Unranked
Hufanga impressively appeared on more than 70% of ballots.