SANTA CLARA, Calif. — After Sunday’s preseason win over the New Orleans Saints, rookie Malik Mustapha took off his No. 43 jersey and lost a finger. Mustapha put on the same jersey he wore at the stadium: No. 42, the retired number of legendary San Francisco 49ers safety Ronnie Lott.
“It was a matter of mindset coming into the game, wearing a Ronnie Lott jersey for the first preseason home game of my NFL career,” Mustapha said at his locker. “I just wanted to go out there with the right mindset to approach the game.”
Mustapha once again put in a solid performance, recording five tackles for the 49ers. None of them were as spectacular as the fourth-down stop last week against the Tennessee Titans, but Mustapha continued to deliver consistently good performances.
This happened just days after Mustapha met Lott in person for the first time.
“I’ve tried to listen to him a little bit,” Mustapha said. “He’s seen so much of the game. I’m just trying to be a young guy, soak it all up and learn from the best. I’d definitely like to talk to him more.”
Mali Mustapha bought a Ronnie Lott jersey shortly after the 49ers signed him, and he recently met the Hall of Famer pic.twitter.com/LRNEUiM9L2
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) 19 August 2024
Mustapha, 22, was born in 2002 – more than seven years after Lott played his last NFL game. But the rookie has insisted on digging up footage of Hall of Fame safeties who played before him. After the 49ers selected Mustapha in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, the rookie said he had to “dust off videotapes of general manager John Lynch’s playing career.” And he’s obviously familiar with Lott’s downhill style, as it has become the model for his mindset.
The 49ers are optimistic about the emerging duo of Mustapha and fellow rookie Renardo Green, a cornerback selected in the team’s second round this year. Both played college football in the ACC; Mustapha was a mobile defensive back for Wake Forest, while Green led the league in passes defensed at Florida State. Green prevented an out attempt by Saints quarterback Derek Carr on receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. in the first quarter on Sunday with a textbook demonstration of press-man coverage.
“I like them,” 49ers second-year safety Ji’Ayir Brown said of Mustapha and Green. “They’re very mature. I think that’s what we do well, bringing in mature guys. Everyone on defense, everyone in the locker room — honestly, mature guys. That’s what I like about them. I like their attention to detail, their work ethic. And they bring a lot in terms of athletic ability and passion and how they bring that to the game.”
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Last week, Mustapha — barking and gesticulating from the high safety position — helped correct Green’s pre-snap alignment on a play that resulted in an incomplete pass by Tennessee. It was an impressive display of field control for a rookie playing his first NFL game.
Green said communication between him and Mustapha went both ways during the offseason program and training camp – and that it began before the 49ers drafted either player.
“Malik and I worked out together before the draft,” Green said at his locker. “When we both found out we were coming here, we knew we had already hit it off at practice in Broward (County). We were on the same page a lot. I told him, ‘Go over the top, make this play, make that play,’ and he was right on time.”
There may be another factor in the duo’s good early chemistry: Green played safety for two years at Florida State. The Seminoles had him switch between that position and cornerback, and Green attributes that switching to his ability to handle the heavy load the 49ers placed on him early in his career. Green has played both outside and slot cornerback as the team tries to develop a player who can re-take the role of veteran DB Deommodore Lenoir.
“In college, I played multiple roles in the secondary, so this is nothing new,” Green said. “I’ve done this before.”
Mustapha, meanwhile, has extensive experience playing in a variety of lineups. Wake Forest used him as a versatile chess piece in its Panther package. The ability to deliver at different depths of defense could open the door to shorter playing time for Mustapha, similar to how veteran safety Talanoa Hufanga was able to enter the lineup as a third safety for the first time in 2021.
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So the 2024 outlook for these two players seems to depend heavily on what Brown mentioned: their maturity. The 49ers believe they’ve landed a pair of unusually experienced rookie DBs. Now they’ll see if that maturity translates into early on-field contributions in the regular season.
But before that happens, Mustapha may have to make a move. His locker currently sits next to that of star left tackle Trent Williams, who is absent as he continues to sit out. Over the past two seasons, Williams has occupied two and sometimes three lockers — including the one Mustapha now occupies. But while Williams is gone, the 49ers — who need to get 90 players into the locker before trimming their roster after the preseason — have temporarily given away some prime real estate.
Mustapha is not naive when it comes to the NFL ecosystem, and perhaps that is another sign of his maturity. Mustapha understands that rookies have to do their due, so he just smiled when asked about his absent neighbor.
“I kind of broke into his second locker,” said Mustapha, laughing. “If he comes back, I’ll probably get kicked out.”
The 49ers will be happy to find another place for him in the locker room. His play so far has earned him at least that and suggests there are more tough hits to come.
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(Photo by Malik Mustapha: Cary Edmondson / USA Today)
