The 2021 NFL draft is under three weeks away. USC Trojans prospects are approaching one of the most significant days of their football-playing careers. All the work, all the training, leads to the three-day period from April 29 through May 1. Talanoa Hufanga is part of USC’s group of seven frontline draft hopefuls.
It is widely believed that Hufanga will be a Day 3 pick on Saturday, May 1. Let’s see what The Athletic’s NFL draft analyst, Dane Brugler, had to say about Hufanga in his evaluation of the USC safety.
Brugler puts Hufanga at No. 10 on his list of safeties. Brugler evaluated 36 safeties in his massive draft profile, so Hufanga exists in the top third of safety prospects. Brugler gives him a fourth-to-fifth-round grade.
STRENGTHS: Quick to diagnose run/pass and see plays unfold…instinctive and active, but won’t chase the cheese…hungry pursuit skills and finds the quickest route from A to B…settles and widens his feet to be a face-up tackler…strong hands to wrap, grapple and ground ball carriers or poke the ball out…stays square laterally and navigates traffic near the line of scrimmage…able to shake blockers as a blitzer…finds his landmarks in short zone coverage and returns his eyes to the backfield…outstanding football character with the team-first mentality that endears himself to coaches…consistently plays through pain…outstanding production when on the field, averaging 8.5 tackles per game in his 24 games at the college level.
WEAKNESSES: Not an elite speed player…doesn’t have the range to handle single-high or man-cover responsibilities at the pro level…average play strength and will find himself hung up on blocks, allowing outside runs…put some confounding missed tackles on tape (12 missed tackles the last two seasons), mostly due to breakdowns in his timing or technique…medicals could be a deal-breaker; suffered a season-ending broken right collarbone (October 2018) and then suffered the same injury (March 2019) during spring practice, requiring surgery to have a steel-plate installed; dislocated his right shoulder (October 2019) and missed two games, requiring surgery after the season; sat out one game due to a concussion (September 2019).
SUMMARY: A three-year starter at USC, Hufanga played strong safety in defensive coordinator Todd Orlando’s 4-2-5 scheme, seeing most of his time near the box.
Injuries plagued his first two seasons, but he stayed healthy in 2020 and was the Pac-12’s Defensive Player of the Year, averaging 10.3 tackles per game and leading the team with four interceptions. The quarterback of the defense at USC, Hufanga uses his vision to pick up on offensive cues and has the balance and body control to make plays. However, he has tweener traits and projects best near the line of scrimmage, lacking the range for man-cover or downfield work against NFL offenses.
Overall, Hufanga is tough, instinctive and quick to recognize play design, but the durability of his right shoulder is a strong concern and he lacks elite play speed for a safety. He projects as a short-zone, subpackage defender if he can stay healthy.