If Talanoa Hufanga can stay healthy, Broncos have a steal

If Talanoa Hufanga is healthy and 100 percent — and that “if” carries a thousand words worth of weight — the Broncos have one of the best, most aggressive and versatile safeties in the NFL.

Consider this: In Hufanga’s last full season — 2022 — he became one of just five defensive backs in the last 10 years to have a season with at least two sacks, two forced fumbles, three interceptions, four tackles for loss and eight passes defensed.

To take those numbers and put them into simple words, Hufanga is an old-school ball-hawk, the type who complements well with a front seven blessed with the type of havoc-wreaking pass rushers the Broncos possess.

But the afore-mentioned “if” atop this piece is why the San Francisco 49ers, who managed to create some cap space with a series of recent moves, didn’t move to re-sign him, and why he became available for the Denver Broncos to add Monday.

The “if” is the $20 million guarantee gamble the Broncos are taking.

Prior to tearing his anterior cruciate ligament 10 games into the 2023 season, Hufanga had one first-team All-Pro nod under his belt and was well on his way to a second. In 2023, opposing quarterbacks had a 60.1 rating when throwing in his direction (per SportRadar.com), the best figure in his career.

Then came the injury.

When Hufanga did take the field in Week 3 last season after starting training camp on the physically-unable-to-perform list, he only lasted through Week 5 before landing on injured reserve due to torn ligaments in his wrist. He finally returned in Week 14.

Despite that, Hufanga still ranked 12th in the league in run-stop percentage among 105 safeties with at least 75 run-defense snaps, with stops on 5.2 percent of his run-defense opportunities, per Pro Football Focus data.

The post-injury issues last year revealed themselves in coverage, where the 118.6 passer rating allowed on 13 times targeted was the worst of his career. This is where being another year removed from the injury should allow him to return to his prior form.

HOW HUFANGA IMPACTS THE ROSTER

The Broncos could stand pat with the safeties they have, which would push P.J. Locke, a starter last year, to a second-team role.

Given how depth became an issue when Locke and Jones each missed a start last season — and how the Broncos struggled in particular when Devon Key started at Baltimore in place of Locke — it would help the team’s cause to be fortified with depth on the back end.

But Denver could also gain $4.19 million of cap space by releasing or trading Locke, who would probably have some value on the market.

What the Broncos do there could depend on how they feel about Key and third-year safety JL Skinner, and whether they can provide necessary quality if Jones or Hufanga are injured.

But given Hufanga’s recent injury history, the wise play would be to hang on to Locke as an insurance policy. After all, the only reason why he became available in the first place was due to the injuries that derailed his All-Pro express.

But if — yeah, there’s that word again — Hufanga stays healthy, Denver’s defense has a chance to be the NFL’s most fearsome.