Talanoa Hufanga
Talanoa Hufanga is an American professional football safety for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He played college football for the USC Trojans and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL draft.
Early life
Hufanga attended Crescent Valley High School in Corvallis, Oregon. He played safety, wide receiver, and quarterback. As a senior in 2017, Hufanga was the Polynesian High School National Player of the Year. He played in the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Game. Hufanga committed to the University of Southern California to play college football.College career
As a true freshman at USC in 2018, Hufanga played in eight games with five starts before suffering a season-ending broken collarbone. He finished the season with 51 tackles.As a sophomore in 2019, Hufanga started all 10 games he played in and recorded 90 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
As a junior in 2020, Hufanga returned to USC as a starter. He and BYU quarterback Zach Wilson were selected as co-recipients of the 2020 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award. For the 2020 season, Hufanga was a Consensus All-American. He also won Pac-12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
College statistics
Professional career
Pre-draft
projected Hufanga to be selected in the fourth or fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Bleacher Report had him ranked as the 12th best safety prospect and projected him to be selected in the fourth round. Dane Brugler of the Athletic had Hufanga ranked as the eighth best safety prospect. Scouts Inc. had him as the 20th best safety in their big board.San Francisco 49ers
2021
The San Francisco 49ers selected Hufanga in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL draft. He was the 14th safety drafted in 2021. On May 13, 2021, the 49ers signed Hufanga to a four-year, $3.72 million rookie contract that includes an initial signing bonus of $240,152.Throughout training camp, Hufanga competed to be the starting strong safety against Tavon Wilson, Tarvarius Moore, and Jaquiski Tartt. Head coach Kyle Shanahan named Hufanga the No. 2 strong safety on the depth chart to begin the season.
Hufanga made his professional regular season debut during the season-opening 41–33 road victory over the Detroit Lions, but saw limited snaps on defense and special teams. During week 8 against the Chicago Bears, Hufanga earned his first career start in place of Jaquiski Tartt, who was placed on injured reserve. Hufanga finished the 33–22 road victory with a season-high five combined tackles. He was inactive for two games after sustaining a knee injury.
Hufanga finished his rookie year with a total of 32 combined tackles and two pass deflections in 15 games and three starts. He received an overall grade of 62.5 from Pro Football Focus as a rookie. The 49ers finished the season third in the NFC West with a 10–7 record and qualified for the playoffs as the #7-seed. Hufanga appeared in his first career playoff game and scored his first career touchdown after returning a blocked punt during a 13–10 road victory over the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round. The touchdown came after defensive lineman Jordan Willis blocked a punt by Corey Bojorquez.
2022
During training camp, Hufanga competed to be a starting safety against Tayler Hawkins, Leon O'Neal Jr., and George Odum. Head coach Kyle Shanahan named him the starting strong safety to begin the season alongside Tashaun Gipson.During the season-opening 19–10 road loss to the Chicago Bears, Hufanga had a team-high 11 combined tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception. In the next game against the Seattle Seahawks, he recorded six tackles and two pass deflections during the 27–7 victory. Two weeks later against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football, Hufanga had four tackles, a pass deflection, and a 52-yard pick six in the 24–9 victory.
During a week 5 37–15 road victory over the Carolina Panthers, Hufanga recorded five tackles, a pass deflection, and his first NFL sack on Baker Mayfield. Two weeks later against the Kansas City Chiefs, he had four tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception in the 44–23 loss. During week 10 against the Los Angeles Chargers on NBC Sunday Night Football, Hufanga recorded two tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception in the 22–16 victory. Two weeks later against the New Orleans Saints, he had a team-high nine tackles and a forced fumble in the 13–0 shutout victory.
During a week 15 21–13 road victory over the Seahawks on Thursday Night Football, Hufanga recorded five tackles, a pass deflection, and a strip-sack as the 49ers clinched the NFC West. In the next game against the Washington Commanders, he had eight tackles and a pass deflection during the 37–20 victory.
Hufanga finished his second professional season started with 97 combined tackles, nine pass deflections, a career-high four interceptions, two forced fumbles, and a sack in 17 games and starts. He earned a Pro Bowl nomination and first team All-Pro honors. Hufanga received an overall grade of 72.1 from Pro Football Focus in 2022.
The 49ers finished the season atop the NFC West with a 13–4 record and qualified for the playoffs as the #2-seed. During the Wild Card Round against the Seahawks, Hufanga had his first career start in a playoff game and finished the 41–23 victory with five combined tackles. In the Divisional Round against the Dallas Cowboys, Hufanga recorded five combined tackles during the 19–12 victory. During the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles, he had six combined tackles and a pass deflection in the 31–7 road loss. Hufanga was ranked 78th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2023.
2023
On February 9, 2023, the San Francisco 49ers hired Steve Wilks to be their new defensive coordinator after DeMeco Ryans accepted the head coaching position with the Houston Texans. Head coach Kyle Shanahan named Hufanga as the starting strong safety to begin the season and paired him with Tashaun Gipson.During the season-opening 30–7 road victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Hufanga had five tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception. Two weeks later against the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football, he recorded a tackle, a pass deflection, and an interception in the 30–12 victory.
During a week 8 31–17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Hufanga recorded a team-high 10 tackles. Following a week 9 bye, the 49ers went on the road to face the Jacksonville Jaguars. In that game, Hufanga had a team-high eight tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception during the 34–3 blowout victory. The following week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he recorded a tackle before leaving the eventual 27–14 victory in the third quarter with a knee injury. It was later revealed that Hufanga tore his ACL, prematurely ending his season.
Hufanga finished the 2023 season with 52 tackles, three interceptions, and three pass deflections in 10 games and starts. Without him, the 49ers reached Super Bowl LVIII, but lost in overtime by a score of 25–22 to the Chiefs.
2024
Hufanga remained on injured reserve for the first two games of the season. He made his season debut in week 3 against the Rams and finished the 27–24 road loss with seven tackles. However, Hufanga missed the next game against the New England Patriots due to an ankle injury he suffered in practice a few days before the game. The following week against the Cardinals, Hufanga made a tackle before leaving the eventual narrow 24–23 loss in the second quarter with a wrist injury. On October 9, 2024, the 49ers officially placed him on injured reserve due to torn ligaments in his wrist.On December 7, Hufanga was activated off of injured reserve after being inactive for seven consecutive games. He returned from injury the next day against the Bears and recorded five tackles in the 38–14 victory. In the next game against the Rams on Thursday Night Football, Hufanga recorded a season-high eight combined tackles during the 12–6 loss.
Hufanga finished the 2024 season with 38 combined tackles in seven games and starts. He received an overall grade of 57.8 from Pro Football Focus.
Denver Broncos
2025
On March 10, 2025, the Denver Broncos signed Hufanga to a three-year, $45 million contract with $20 million guaranteed.Hufanga made his Broncos debut in the season-opener against the Tennessee Titans and finished the 20–12 victory with a team-high 11 combined tackles and a forced fumble. In the next game against the Indianapolis Colts, Hufanga had 10 tackles during the narrow 29–28 road loss. The following week against the Chargers, he recorded six tackles and two pass deflections in the 23–20 road loss.
During a week 5 21–17 road victory over the reigning Super Bowl-champion Eagles, Hufanga had a team-high seven combined tackles and a pass deflection. In the next game against the New York Jets in London, he recorded five tackles, a pass deflection, and his first sack of the season on Justin Fields during the narrow 13–11 victory. The following week against the Giants, Hufanga had five tackles and two pass deflections in the narrow 33–32 comeback victory.
During week 9 against the Texans, Hufanga recorded nine combined tackles and two pass deflections in the 18–15 road victory. In the next game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday Night Football, he had a team-high nine combined tackles and his second sack of the season on Geno Smith during the 10–7 victory. The following week against the Chiefs, Hufanga recorded six tackles and a pass deflection in the 22–19 victory.
NFL career statistics
Regular season
Postseason
Personal life
Hufanga is of Tongan descent. He is the son of Tevita and Tanya Hufanga and has a brother named TJ. Hufanga also trains with Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu.Hufanga is the cousin of Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu and Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Tuli Tuipulotu.