Re-draft exercises are always fun to look at, think back on the time in which the re-draft occurs and see what alternative options team could have gone with to go in a different direction.
For The 33rd Team’s Marcus Mosher, that alternative direction in the 2021 NFL Draft for the Steelers centers on current San Francisco 49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga at No. 24 overall, rather than landing running back Najee Harris in the first round of that draft.
“Talanoa Hufanga has established himself as one of the NFL’s best box safeties, but a torn ACL ended his 2023 season prematurely. Still, he is a fantastic fit with Minkiah Fitzpatrick, giving the Pittsburgh Steelers one of the best safety duos in the league,” Mosher writes regarding Hufanga as the Steelers’ selection in the 2021 NFL Re-Draft exercise. “Hufanga was an All-Pro selection during the 2022 season, recording four interceptions and two forced fumbles. His playmaking and physicality would allow him to fit in perfectly in Pittsburgh.”
Hufanga was a fifth-round pick out of USC by the 49ers in the 2021 NFL Draft, going 180th overall. Coming out of USC, former Steelers great and Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu was his mentor.
Since then, he’s far outplayed his draft slot, earning a Pro Bowl nod in 2022 and his first first-team All-Pro accolade.
Hufanga started his breakout in the 2021 playoffs for the 49ers, blocking a punt against the Green Bay Packers and returning it for a touchdown in a 13-10 win. That then led to a starting role in 2022 as he truly burst onto the scene.
That year, Hufanga recorded 97 tackles, four interceptions (one touchdown), nine passes defensed and two forced fumbles. He continued his strong play into 2023, opening the season with an interception against the Steelers in a blowout win. He tore his ACL in Week 11, missing the 49ers’ run to the Super Bowl.
Big INTzz ‼️ @TalanoaHufanga
📺 #SFvsPIT on FOX
📱 NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4oaLh pic.twitter.com/F4kGtaPxri— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) September 10, 2023
Harris has been a steady presence in the backfield for the Steelers, giving them three 1,000-yard seasons to open his career. However, the Steelers declined Harris’s fifth-year option in May, putting him in a contract year with the Black and Gold.
Selecting a running back in the first round that year wasn’t a popular move as the Steelers still needed plenty of help along the offensive line. Harris has been steady though and nothing even close to a bust.
Hufanga would have found himself behind Terrell Edmunds on the depth chart to start the 2021 season, but maybe he could have developed into that solid piece next to Minkah Fitzpatrick long-term. That could have kept the Steelers off the safety carousel in free agency in recent years with the likes of Damontae Kazee, Keanu Neal, and now DeShon Elliott.
