Talanoa Hufanga has become a household name throughout the first half of the 2022 NFL season. The second-year safety out of USC is putting up numbers that have vaulted him to one of the league's best at the position.
Next Gen Stats pointed out on Twitter that Hufanga has excelled on the back end of the 49ers' defense this season, and in coverage, there is no one better than the 23-year-old.
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Among safeties with a minimum of 20 targets, Hufanga has a 35 percent ball hawk rate, -5.5 receptions over expected, and -19.5 target Expected Points Added. Meanwhile, only Ahmad Gardner and James Bradberry are recording a better EPA than the 49ers star.
In San Francisco's 22-16 win against the Los Angeles Chargers on "Sunday Night Football" at Levi's Stadium, Hufanga continued his ball-hawking talents. The 49ers' safety clinched the victory over the Chargers with an interception of a Justin Herbert pass, helping San Francisco improve to 5-4 on the season.
The numbers are beginning to show that Hufanga might just be the best at his position, but NBC Sports Bay Area analyst Donte Whitner sounded the alarm in October about where the 49ers' defensive back stood in the NFL.
"It's the instincts and the understanding of the defense to me," Whitner said. "You know they like to throw the ball out there to Cooper Kupp. He's not even supposed to be there. He's supposed to get on the outside of the receiver that's blocking him and turn the ball back into the defense. But there, when you recognize something and you've seen it all week in practice, you go out and make a play in the game.
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"And that's what he's been doing at all levels of the defense. TFL's, he's leading the team in TFL's, playing linebacker, playing safety, D-line, the reaction skills from just being back there and reading the quarterback's eyes. Talanoa Hufanga is the No. 1 safety in the NFL currently."
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Hufanga will have the national spotlight again as the 49ers take on the Arizona Cardinals next Monday at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.