In truth, every player on the San Francisco 49ers' roster is under pressure heading into the 2024 season.
But there are several players on the team on whom there is a significant onus to rise to the occasion as the Niners look to atone for last season's Super Bowl heartbreak.
Two of those players occupy the safety position.
Talanoa Hufanga is under pressure to return to full health and to his All-Pro form of 2022 after tearing his ACL in November. The man who replaced him, 2023 third-round pick Ji'Ayir Brown, must ensure his encouraging play in his five regular-season starts and three postseason appearances, which included an interception in the Super Bowl, translates into his first full campaign as a starter.
With no convincing safety net behind that duo, though they did select Malik Mustapha in the fourth round of this year's draft, the 49ers can't afford Brown and Hufanga not to deliver.
And NFL.com's Bucky Brooks has significant confidence Brown will continue on his upward trajectory.
Brooks named Brown on the defensive side of his 'All-Breakout Team' for the 2024 season.
He wrote:
The ball-hawking safety lived up to his reputation in Year 1. Brown notched a pair of regular-season interceptions and a postseason pick as a part-time starter who was thrown into the fire following Talanoa Hufanga's season-ending injury. The INTs showcased his range and ball skills, adding a dimension to a defensive backfield that feasts on tipped passes and overthrown balls down the field. With the 49ers expected to return to a scheme that places a premium on turnovers, the second-year pro could become a household name as a takeaway specialist on an elite defense.
The 49ers finished tied for the league lead in interceptions with 22 last season and Brown, most notably on his Super Bowl pick of Patrick Mahomes, displayed the instincts and the movement skills to suggest he can keep the Niners near the top of the league in that department.
But Brown breaking out isn't just about him producing takeaways. He must also maintain the type of coverage skills that allowed the former Penn State star to lock down DeVonta Smith in the red zone in the 49ers' key win over the Philadelphia Eagles on the road last year.
One area where Brown will need to improve is his tackling. Hufanga had a broken tackle + missed tackle rate of 9.1 percent, per Sports Info Solutions. Brown's was 16.7%.
San Francisco will obviously want that rate to come down while encouraging Brown to maintain the aggressive style of play that attracted the 49ers to him in the first place.
Brown's challenge is the same one Hufanga has faced during his career, and that is to ensure his desire to make momentum-changing plays does not result in errors that lead to him giving up explosive ones.
Hufanfga has, for the most part, succeeded in rising to that task during his career. If Brown can do the same and take a step forward with a breakout season alongside a bounce-back year from Hufanga, the 49ers' secondary will be in an excellent position to help the Niners achieve the ultimate goal in 2024.
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