49ers selected Wake Forest S Malik Mustapha with the No. 124 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Mustapha (5’101/206) attended Richmond for a year when he didn’t receive a scholarship from Wake Forest before hitting the transfer portal after the spring of his freshman year and finally becoming a Demon Deacon. He emerged in 2022 with 58 tackles, 15 pressures, 8.0 TFL, and 3.5 sacks, which buttressed his sterling 92.7 pass-rush grade that ranked second in the nation. Mustapha would be named a defensive captain and play more in the box, leading to a career-high 80 tackles and a Second Team All-ACC nod for his Exemplary play. The Charlotte, NC product was sidelined at Indy with a right hamstring strain but made his presence felt with an excellent testing set on his pro day. He ran a blistering 2.57s flying-20 (92nd percentile) and a 4.54s 40-yard dash (74th%) to go with a fantastic 41.5” vertical (98th percentile) and 22 bench reps (96th percentile) for a fortified 9.39 RAS. Mustapha has a stocky, dense frame that brings authority to his presence as a front-line, run supporting strong safety. While stout proportions can cause him to stick on blocks and limit his ability to probe tight ends in coverage, his noticeable athleticism and range allowed Mustapha to play a significant amount of free safety. He could easily exceed the relatively modest draft capital investment for the 49ers.
