What Talanoa Hufanga has Learned From John Lynch About Playing Safety

Lynch is telling Hufanga to trust himself on the field and essentially do what he wants when he sees fit.

Jan 8, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga (29) before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers have two All Pro safeties in their organization -- Talanoa Hufanga and John Lynch.

Of course, Lynch is retired and he's the general manager and he's also in the Hall of Fame. So he can serve as a mentor for Hufanga, who was outstanding in 2022 but not quite as dominant in 2023 before he went down midseason with a torn ACL. Hufanga also is mentored by Troy Polamalu and Ronnie Lott because all three went to USC, so Hufanga has three Hall of Famers in his corner.

This week during minicamp, Hufanga explained what he has learned from Lynch about playing safety in the NFL.

"A lot of times last year, I got in a rhythm where I was playing the call versus what he would say is being myself and using my vision. Being an instinctual player and not having to rely on a call. That was really cool to have John in my ear teaching me that and knowing what my strengths are so I can play to them."

Lynch is telling Hufanga to trust himself on the field and essentially do what he wants when he sees fit. That's how highly Lynch thinks of Hufanga. Only the best safeties in the league get to play that way.

When Ronnie Lott was an All Pro safety for the 49ers, he often would abandon George Seifert's play call and tell his teammates to "cover him" because he "had a feeling." And the 49ers wanted him to do that because when he trusted his instincts, he made plays more times than not. And if the 49ers didn't know what he was doing, neither did the opponent.

So Lynch wants Hufanga to channel his inner Ronnie Lott. Lynch sounds like he'd be a good coach.