One 49ers Player Whose Stock Drastically Decreased Against Chicago

It's safety Malik Mustapha. What a disappointment he has been this season. There's not a single aspect of a game that he has managed to take a step forward in.

And the skills that made him good last year are shaky at best. Look no further than when he allowed the first touchdown pass of the game to Luther Burden.

A lot of fans and spectators took to social media to blame Ji'Ayir Brown for the touchdown. He was the player in coverage after all, so it had to have been him, right?

Wrong. The blame for that touchdown pass belongs to Mustapha. He is supposed to drop back into a two-shell coverage along with Brown.

Instead, he bites on a 10 to 15-yard crosser, which is clearly being covered by Dee Winters. There's zero reason for Mustapha to get sucked in on the crosser-route being run by Coltson Loveland. Zero.

That is Winters' zone. He has to let him take that responsibility. As a result, he vacates his zone, which makes it a layup touchdown throw for Caleb Williams to Burden on the post route.

Mustapha is playing like a freelancer. His coverage skills were never that great to begin with, but he was decent and showed a lot of promise last year.

He only allowed four catches on 17 targets for 39 yards and two touchdowns in his rookie season. This year, he's already allowed 19 catches on 29 targets for 270 yards and two touchdowns in three fewer games as a starter.

Even as a run defender, which was Mustapha's strength, he's struggled. He's a massive liability for the 49ers and is highlighting how putrid the secondary is.

This is why adding a pass rusher at the trade deadline wouldn't have been enough. What good is a pass rush when receivers are wide open a handful of times a game?

It's time to assess Mustapha for what he is this season and not what he did in 2024.

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