Sean Payton Forecasts Big Impact from New Safety Talanoa Hufanga

The Denver Broncos have a new safety tandem. On the heels of signing former San Francisco 49ers All-Pro Talanoa Hufanga, the Broncos are poised to field one of the NFL's more menacing safety duos, including Brandon Jones.

Jones played at a Pro Bowl level in his first year as a Bronco, finishing as an alternate. Hufanga earned All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in 2022, but that was a long time ago.

Injuries, including a torn ACL, have torpedoed Hufanga's career since his breakout All-Pro campaign three years ago. But he passed his Broncos medical exam as a prospective free agent three months ago, and the team was confident enough in his current health and its own internal player wellness/strength and conditioning program to sign him to a multi-year deal.

Last week's OTA practice was our first glimpse at Hufanga in action as a Bronco. Unlike his fellow ex-Niner and locker mate, Dre Greenlaw, there are no current injuries keeping Hufanga from practicing.

Following Thursday's session, head coach Sean Payton shared what observations he could of Hufanga, with the caveat that the Broncos aren't practicing in pads yet.

“We’re not in pads, so when you ask about a safety, it’s hard to elaborate when you’re not in shoulder pads and helmets or full gear," Payton said of Hufanga. "He’s smart. He’s a real good leader. He’s played in real good defenses. He’s been a real positive addition and is going to help us a lot.”

Payton previously described Hufanga as a "first responder," meaning that when you watch his film, he's often the first guy to the ball, flying downhill like a heat-seeking missile. Hufanga is definitely a player in the old-school mold, modeling himself after Hall-of-Famer Troy Polamalu.

There are several aspects to Hufanga's game that smack of Polamalu, and his appearance is the cherry on top. With that long flowing hair blasting out the back of his helmet, it's easy to see Hufanga and think Polamalu, but then watching the new Bronco's approach to the game and how he comports himself on the field, the parallels become extremely uncanny.

Now, Hufanga has a long way to go to be mentioned in the same breath as an all-timer like Polamalu, but that's one heck of standard for a still-young safety to shoot for. Polamalu was one of the most physical and violent players of his NFL era, and one of the aspects of football that Hufanga relishes is the "free violence."

"I was a big Troy fan... That was somebody I really used to watch a lot," Hufanga said on Thursday.

It helps that both share an alma mater: USC. The parallels and ties only intensify.

The odd man out in Denver's new safety equation is P.J. Locke. After going undrafted in 2019, Locke worked his way up the totem pole in Denver, going from bottom-of-the-roster special-teamer to the guy stepping in for a suspended Kareem Jackson in 2023.

The tape Locke put up during his action in relief of Jackson that year garnered him a two-year extension from the Broncos. The Broncos waived Jackson late in the season and opted to get younger at safety, releasing Justin Simmons in the spring of 2024.

Jones was signed, Locke was re-signed, and the Broncos hoped they had their starting safety duo for the foreseeable future. Alas, Locke failed to translate his 2023 impact into his first year as an unquestioned starter, often being caught out of position in coverage, and relinquishing way too many plays in the passing game.

Enter Hufanga, which relegates Locke back to a reserve role, but as the No. 3 safety, it's where he's proven to thrive best. If a guy like Locke is a team's third-best safety, that's a strong group.

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Here's to hoping that Hufanga can stay out of the injury bug's sights this year. If he manages to do so, he could be in the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year conversation.