The San Francisco 49ers did not add a safety during the NFL Draft. During his post-draft presser, general manager John Lynch said:
“As for not drafting a safety, there were some guys that came off and, look, this thing’s still going on, we’ve got some free agents and all that. We’ve got a group that we really do like. But kind of the way the board fell, it just didn’t work out. And we love what we were able to add. The work’s not over.”
For now, the safety room consists of Ji’Ayir Brown, in the final year of his rookie contract; Malik Mustapha, now a full calendar year removed from an ACL injury; second-year pro Marques Sigle; Derrick Canteen; Darrick Forrest; and undrafted free agent Jalen Stroman.
The Niners were two picks away from Dillion Thieneman falling into their lap at No. 27. When Thieneman was an underclassman at Purdue, he played free safety and showed NFL ability. The same was true this past season: playing almost exclusively near the line of scrimmage or performing tasks closer to it.
The Raiders took a defensive back at No. 38, who they plan to play safety. Toledo safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren was consistently mocked in the first round. The Browns traded up with the 49ers to select him. Treydan Stukes and McNeil-Warren don’t have the same positional versatility, making them projections.
The 49ers have a safety room full of “box” or “down” safeties. A.J. Haulcy was a safety that had Raheem Morris written all over him. The 49ers prioritized adding pass rush at 70 over Haulcy. By the time pick No. 90 rolled around, Haulcy was long gone.
Seattle took a safety at the end of the second round. The only other safety drafted between Bud Clark and the end of the third round was Jakobe Thomas out of Miami. Thomas had a missed-tackle rate of over 20 percent for three straight years before this past season at Miami, when he trimmed it to 19 percent.
Only two safeties were drafted in the fourth round. The fact that the safety run didn’t happen until the fifth round, when six were drafted, is the biggest sign we have about how the NFL felt about this safety class.
It’s slim pickings for the 49ers as far as safeties in free agency go
Ephensians Prysock and Jaden Duggar have been in positions where they’ve had safety-like duties—Duggar is a safety convert—but neither is a true free safety. If the 49ers are looking to add competition to their safety room, they’ll need to do so in the free agency market.
The 49ers are looking at Jimmie Ward, who turns 35 in July, and hasn’t played a full season since 2021. Former Ravens starting safety Chuck Clark, who last started a full season with Baltimore in 2022. Harrison Smith is 37. Xavier Woods has started is another option with years of safety experience, but he turns 31 in July and is coming off a hamstring injury that caused him to miss the final six games of the ’25 season.
Raheem Morris was the Rams’ defensive coordinator from 2021 to 2023. In 2021, Taylor Rapp started every game at free safety for the Rams. That season, Rapp had a career high in interceptions with four. Rapp had two interceptions the following season. He had 91 tackles and four for loss in each season playing under Morris. Those were arguably his two most productive seasons as a pro, where he only missed one game during that stretch.
Unfortunately, those Rams seasons were also the last time Rapp played a full season. He was limited to six games with a knee injury last season. Tackling has been a major issue for Rapp, who missed a staggering 29.7 percent last season. Rams fans will also tell you Rapp was far from a consistent tackler. Add in injuries and how many years it’s been since Rapp was a serviceable player, and there aren’t many options you can look at on the free agency market and conclude they can come in and compete for a starting spot.
Rapp would be the ultimate buy-low option, but even after his best seasons with the Rams, Buffalo didn’t offer him anything more than a couple of million per season. Unless the Niners are eyeing a trade, they’re rolling into the season with the same starters as they did last year.
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