Big Concern Over Broncos Signing S Talanoa Hufanga Can be Put to Bed

The Denver Broncos made a splash when they quickly signed former San Francisco 49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga once the 'legal tampering' window opened on Monday. While it seemed like the Broncos wanted someone to complement what Brandon Jones brings, he and Hufanga are similar players.

Both can work in certain high-zone coverages, but neither is a single high-caliber player. And both are better when coming downhill and working closer to the line of scrimmage. 

This leads to a question about their usage: How will Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph use these safeties effectively?

The answer is quite apparent. Nothing changes. In fact, it makes the secondary more potent, not only because Hufanga is a far more talented player than P.J. Locke but also because it allows Joseph to be more creative with his safeties. 

Let’s highlight their positional snap counts, using 2024 for Jones and Locke and 2022 for Hufanga, as that was his last healthy season.

Joseph likes to have his safeties move around pre-snap to help disguise coverages, which was successful in 2024, and that bears remembering as we go through the snap counts.

• Jones played 1,042 total snaps in 2024. 297 were in the box, 122 in the slot, and 671 as a safety. 
• Locke played 1,076 total snaps in 2024. 299 were in the box, 119 in the slot, and 617 as a safety. 
• Hufanga played 1,214 total snaps in 2022. 360 were in the box, 129 in the slot, and 662 as a safety.

Hufanga has proven he can play all over the field and be highly effective. The most significant detriment is playing as a single high, but the Broncos have a player to help ease that burden: Patrick Surtain II.

With Surtain locking down the field, the safeties can cheat their coverage slightly away from him. So even in those looks, they still play more of a two-high look than a single-high. 

Hufanga's versatility and ability make him a natural fit next to Jones. It allows Joseph to creep either safety and still have his coverage disguised for opposing quarterbacks.

On top of that, improving Denver's coverage from the linebacker position with Dre Greenlaw adds the ability to be even more creative with the different coverage looks. 

There will be instances of bringing Hufanga or Jones closer to the line of scrimmage only to drop Greenlaw into a deeper zone. Is it something that should be done frequently?

No, but in two to five snaps a game, it could potentially bait the quarterback into a turnover opportunity for the defense. Denver has flirted with this over the past two seasons, though with different personnel packages, because it didn’t have that cover linebacker. 

Of course, this doesn’t cover the fact that Hufanga is an immensely more talented player than Locke. Now, despite the cap ramifications, Denver should keep Locke because he is a gifted special-teams player and a capable depth player.

Locke's presence is also needed because Hufanga has had issues staying on the field during his career. It was a bit of a risky signing, so you want to mitigate that risk by keeping a serviceable starter. 

Now that the Broncos have the personnel to do the different things Joseph has flirted with, it will be interesting to see them materialize on the field. The Broncos need Greenlaw and Hufanga to stay healthy and on the field.

But the concerns over Jones and Hufanga's similarities can be put to bed. These two players working together should see a good secondary become elite next season, provided they can execute, of course.