Broncos $39 Million NFL All-Pro Dropped From List of ‘Elite’ Safeties

While team goals and team achievements are always going to come first, it’s not hard to see how Denver Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga might be shaping his approach to the 2025 season in his first year not playing for the San Francisco 49ers.

Three years ago, in 2022, Hufanga looked like the NFL’s best safety as he earned NFL All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors for the first time. Since then, Hufanga has missed 17 games due to injuries and seen his stock drop exponentially in terms of the NFL’s safety hierarchy.

That was underlined when ESPN released its annual position rankings and Hufanga was dropped from the Top 10 safeties after starting 2024 at No. 9 on the list.

For Hufanga, it might only serve as motivation to try and return to his previous “elite” status at his position.

From ESPN: “Hufanga was one of several key members of the 2024 49ers to have his season limited by injuries, missing 10 games due to knee, ankle and wrist problems. The 2022 first-team All-Pro has missed major portions of the past two seasons — a torn right ACL cost him the final 10 games of the 2023 season in San Francisco. Hufanga signed a three-year, $45 million contract with Denver in March.”

Hufanga signed a 3-year, $39 million free agent contract with Broncos on March 10 and was one of 2 high profile defensive signings who came to Denver from the 49ers alongside linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who signed a 3-year, $31.5 million contract the same day.

Hufanga Dominated Pac-12 Competition

Hufanga went from tiny Crescent Valley High School — a rural high school north of Corvallis, Oregon — to becoming one of the nation’s top high school football players and was named U.S. Army All-American in 2018.

From there, Hufanga starred at USC from 2018 to 2020, where he was a 2-time All-Pac-12 selection, unanimous All-American and Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2020 with 62 tackles, 4 interceptions and 2 forced fumbles along with an interception return for a touchdown.

The 49ers drafted Hufanga in the fifth round (No. 180 overall) in the 2021 NFL draft and signed him to a 4-year, $3.7 million contract. Hufanga started 3 games as a rookie in 2021 then was one of the NFL’s best safeties in 2022, starting all 17 games with 97 tackles, 4 interceptions, 9 pass deflections and 2 forced fumbles.

The last 2 seasons have set Hufanga’s career — and bank account — back considerably. He only played 10 games in 2023 after he tore his ACL in Week 11 and missed 10 games in 2024 with wrist and ankle injuries.

Hufanga Draws Comparisons to NFL Legend

No less than legendary Broncos safety Steve Atwater came out and praised Hufanga after he signed with Denver.

Atwater retired from the NFL in 1998 as a 2-time Super Bowl champion, 4-time NFL All-Pro and 8-time Pro Bowler. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2020 and still carries a reputation as one of the hardest hitters in NFL history.

“I see it and I love it,” Atwater told The Denver Post’s Troy Renck about Hufanga’s style of play. “You can’t worry about what might happen when you are trying to make the tackle. You just have to do it. (Hufanga) absolutely brings it.”