49ers are Excited About the Growth of Their Young Safeties

49ers defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen is happy to see the growth out of Ji'Ayir Brown and Malik Mustapha. Here is what he had to say about them.

Oct 6, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers safety Malik Mustapha (6) gestures after defending a pass against the Arizona Cardinals during the second quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The safety position was one that the San Francisco 49ers needed to get younger at.

It is what led them to draft Ji'Ayir Brown two years ago in the third-round and Malik Mustapha this year in the fourth. Brown showed a lot of promise last year and set himself up for an exciting second-year leap. However, he has yet to make that leap.

The young safety that has really been a baller for the 49ers is rookie Mustapha. He didn't start getting playing time until the New England Patriots game, but he's been making the most of it. There is still hope with Brown to make his leap as the 49ers emerge from their Bye.

Despite how underwhelming he has been, defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen is excited about his and Mustapha's growth this season. He was asked on Thursday how much growth he has seen from the two young starting safeties.

“A lot," Sorensen said. "The more that we can let those guys play free and fast, then you see them show up and I think that's what you see out of Malik, too. And the more they play, they're going to play that way and they start to expect things and it's not the first time they've seen something. So, the acceleration's been great.”

Between Brown and Mustapha, it is Mustapha who has been the better safety. It's been surprising to see how well he has handled the starting role. The main issue with Mustapha has been tackling, while Brown has been struggling in coverage and with taking angles.

This is part of the process of starting two young safeties. Usually, the 49ers wouldn't be so tolerant or patient to deal with those mistakes. Part of that is the 49ers don't have better veteran alternatives. Another is that both Brown and Mustapha demonstrate enough positives to make up for their negatives.

“No one is perfect, period, but when the guys are young and the one thing that's cool about them that you guys ask about them and that I say weekly, is that they do get better and they learn every week. And even with [Ji’Ayir Brown] Tig, he came in midway through the season, so really he's kind of played a year now."

Brown generated some momentum for himself going into the Bye. He registered a sweet interception against the Dallas Cowboys and was overall strong. It was arguably his best performance this season, so Brown may start to hit his stride. As for Mustapha, the arrow has been pointing up since he started getting playing time. So long as he cleans up the tackling and doesn't falter, he'll be dependable.

"I think those guys have accelerated their growth, they care a lot," Sorensen said. "They continue to communicate well, but it's not perfect. And I think getting a lot of young guys playing time early, even early in the season when we were kind of rotating some guys has really, it's starting to pay the dividends and that's where you see them making plays. They're feeling more confident and that's been good.”