NFL insider believes 49ers should take advantage of coach's connection with former All-Pro free agent

The San Francisco 49ers' roster is regarded as the best in football and has very few obvious holes outside of their well-documented issues on the offensive line. However, as training camp and the 2024 season draw ever closer, there is an underrated problem they still have the opportunity to address.

San Francisco is set to start 2023 third-round pick Ji'Ayir Brown and 2022 All-Pro Talanoa Hufanga, who is coming off a torn ACL, at safety in the coming season. However, with Hufanga recovering from a serious injury and Brown having only five regular-season starts to his name, the 49ers don't have much security at the position.

Fourth-round rookie Malik Mustapha right now is set to serve as the 49ers' primary insurance at safety. While the Niners think highly of Mustapha , they are clearly in a precarious situation in terms of their depth, though it is one they can fix.

There remain a host of veteran safeties available on the open market, and Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer identified one he believes the 49ers should be targeting, in part because of his connection with a coach San Francisco recently hired to its staff, assistant head coach Brandon Staley.

Responding to a question about a best fit for former Denver Broncos safety Justin Simmons, Breer wrote in his latest mailbag :

"I love the idea of Justin Simmons in either the Vic Fangio–style of defense he’s played in for the Broncos since 2019, or in a Seattle Seahawks–type of defense. That’s why I’d really love to see him as the center fielder in the Niners’ defense—which has historically played the Seattle three scheme, and also just brought aboard Brandon Staley (whom Simmons knows well) from the Fangio tree."

Staley was on the Broncos' defensive staff for one season in 2019, when he was outside linebackers coach under Fangio. So, while there is crossover, Staley did not work directly with Simmons during his brief time in Denver.

Still, if Staley, who will work closely with first-time defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen, gets the chance to implement some Fangio-inspired tweaks to the 49ers' scheme, it would make sense to have a safety familiar with the defense on the roster.

A four-time second-team All-Pro, Simmons would also add another playmaker to the secondary. He has 30 interceptions in his career, 19 of which have come in the last four seasons, with that tally the most among safeties in that period.

But the 49ers also have to consider that, at 30 years old, Simmons could be looking for a final substantive payday and may demand a contract well beyond what San Francisco is willing to spend to add depth at the position. After all, a big part of the appeal of having Brown and Hufanga as starters is that they are each on rookie contracts. Bringing in a highly paid veteran negates the benefit of that.

Instead, it's more likely the 49ers look to a player like John Johnson III, whom I recently identified as a signing they should consider. At 28, Johnson is younger, would likely be cheaper and has experience working directly with Staley in 2020 when he was Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator.

Simmons would be more of a splash signing, but it's highly debatable whether it would make sense for San Francisco.

Related: San Francisco 49ers' surprise cut candidate illustrates just how quickly things can change in the NFL