| No. 6 – San Francisco 49ers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Safety | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | June 25, 2002 Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 206 lb (93 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Weddington (Weddington, North Carolina) | ||||||||
| College: | Richmond (2020) Wake Forest (2021–2023) | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2024: 4th round, 124th pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2024 | |||||||||
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Malik Mustapha (born June 25, 2002) is an American professional football safety for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Richmond Spiders and Wake Forest Demon Deacons. He was selected by the 49ers in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL draft.
Mustapha is of Nigerian descent. [1] [2] He attended Weddington High School in Weddington, North Carolina. [3] In 2019 as a senior, he had 68 tackles and five interceptions, including a North Carolina state title where Mustapha blocked a kick in the second half of the championship game. [4] He committed to the University of Richmond to play college football.
Mustapha played at Richmond for one year before transferring to Wake Forest University. [5] He played at Wake Forest from 2021 to 2023. [6] [7] During his career, he had 175 tackles, three interceptions and four sacks over 35 games. Mustapha entered the 2024 NFL draft.
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 10+1⁄8 in (1.78 m) | 209 lb (95 kg) | 30+1⁄8 in (0.77 m) | 9 in (0.23 m) | 4.54 s | 1.58 s | 2.57 s | 41.5 in (1.05 m) | 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) | 22 reps | |||
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day [8] [9] | ||||||||||||
The San Francisco 49ers selected Mustapha with the 124th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL draft. The 124th pick had initially belonged to the Dallas Cowboys, who traded it to the 49ers in exchange for Trey Lance. [10]
Mustapha began his rookie season as a backup, but injuries sustained by Talanoa Hufanga soon thrust him into a more prominent role. [11] [12] In Week 4 he made his first start in a 30–13 victory over the New England Patriots. [13] Mustapha recorded his first career interception two weeks later during a Thursday night game against the Seattle Seahawks; the 49ers defeated the Seahawks 36–24. [14] Owing to his strong play he was able to retain his position as a starter following Hufanga's return to the lineup in Week 14. [15] Mustapha finished the season with 72 total tackles, including two tackles for loss, five passes defended, and an interception.
On April 26, 2025, it was reported that Mustapha has reaggravated an old ACL injury during Week 18 of the 2024 season, and would miss the beginning of the 2025 season. [16] [17]
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | PD | Int | Yds | TD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2024 | SF | 16 | 12 | 72 | 32 | 40 | 0.0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 16 | 12 | 72 | 32 | 40 | 0.0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |