SANTA CLARA — Safety Malik Mustapha is not just the 49ers’ first pick on Day 3 of the NFL Draft. Historically, he’ll be entered in team lore as the player they drafted with the fourth-round selection they acquired last August from the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for 2021 draft bust Trey Lance.
Speaking of trades, the 49ers moved both their fifth-round picks to the New York Jets, then took Louisville running back Isaac Guerendo in the fourth round, too.
Mustapha, selected 124th overall, adds depth to a spot needing bodies, including as insurance for starter Talanoa Hufanga as he returns from last season’s anterior cruciate ligament tear. Two years ago, Mustapha was coming off his own ACL injury, which he sustained in the Gator Bowl.
“I’m. a downhill, speed, tenacity ballplayer that plays physically with a lot of fire,” Mustapha said on a video conference with Bay Area reporters.
A team captain at Wake Forest last season, Mustapha totaled three interceptions, four sacks, four forced fumbles and 10 passes defended in his three seasons there. He played his freshman year at Richmond during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Mustapha (5-foot-10, 206 pounds) ran the 40-yard dash in 4.54 seconds. Aside from being an understudy to Hufanga and fellow safety Ji’Ayir Brown, look for him to try winning a roster spot via special teams, as Mustapha himself professed. He claims he fits the 49ers’ defensive model “perfectly,” and although he’s picked up gems from studying Hufanga’s film, he’s also modeled his game after Budda Baker as an undersized yet fearless safety.
As for Guerendo, the 6-foot, 221-pound rusher spent five years at Wisconsin before moving to Louisville last year. He averaged 6 yards per carry in his college career.
Guerendo made the most of his only college start, that coming in the Holiday Bowl win over USC. He ran for a career-high 161 yards and three touchdowns, which tied for the most in Louisville bowl history.
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Thus far, the 49ers have taken:
Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall: Florida (first round, No. 31)
Cornerback Renardo Green: Florida State (second round, No. 64)
Guard Dominick Puni: Kansas (third round, No. 86)