It’s hard to convey to the modern football fan the absolute fear former Denver Broncos free safety Steve Atwater invoked among NFL wide receivers and running backs throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
The easy way to convey it is they just don’t make ’em like that anymore.
Atwater walked away from the NFL in 1998 after 11 seasons as a 2-time Super Bowl champion, 4-time NFL All-Pro, 8-time Pro Bowler and eventually, a Pro Football Hall of Famer.
That’s why, when Atwater talks about another safety in glowing terms, we all might want to listen. The Hall of Famer had high praise for current Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga, a throwback player in the mode of Atwater’s punishing style.
“I see it and I love it,” Atwater told The Denver Post’s Troy Renck about Hufanga’s style of play. “You can’t worry about what might happen when you are trying to make the tackle. You just have to do it. (Hufanga) absolutely brings it.”
Hufanga, who was an NFL All-Pro and Pro Bowler in 2022, is headed into his first season with the Broncos after signing a 3-year, $39 million free agent contract on March 10.
Hufanga Battled Injuries Since All-Pro Season
Hufanga starred at USC from 2018 to 2020, where he was a 2-time All-Pac-12 selection, unanimous All-American and Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2020 with 62 tackles, 4 interceptions and 2 forced fumbles along with an interception return for a touchdown.
The San Francisco 49ers drafted Hufanga in the fifth round (No. 180 overall) of the 2021 NFL draft and signed him to a 4-year, $3.7 million contract. Hufanga started 3 games as a rookie in 2021 then was one of the NFL’s best safeties in 2022, starting all 17 games with 97 tackles, 4 interceptions, 9 pass deflections and 2 forced fumbles.
The last 2 seasons have set Hufanga’s career — and bank account — back considerably. He only played 10 games in 2023 after he tore his ACL in Week 11 and missed 10 games in 2024 with wrist and ankle injuries.
USA Today’s Tyler Dragon thinks the best way to do that might be to sign San Francisco 49ers safety and NFL All-Pro Talanoa Hufanga in free agency.
Injuries to Hufanga are a concern, but the Broncos have $32 million in dead cap space in 2025 so that might make signing the former USC star a more reasonable venture.
“Hufanga has been banged up the last two seasons, playing just a combined 17 games while dealing with a torn ACL and other injuries,” USA Today’s Tyler Dragon wrote on February 11. “Hufanga is one of the NFL’s better safeties when he’s on the field. Defensive Player of the Year cornerback Pat Surtain and Hufanga would be a scary duo in Denver’s defensive backfield.”
Broncos Could Have NFL’s Elite Safety Duo
While the Surtain-Hufanga pairing could be formidable, Hufanga and Brandon Jones could also be one of the NFL’s elite safety duos. Jones signed a 3-year, $20 million free agent contract with the Broncos in March 2024 and Pro Football Focus singled him out as one of the NFL’s most underrated players in 2025.
“(Jones) exceeded expectations by finishing as one of the five highest-graded safeties overall (84.8) and in coverage (89.8) in 2024,” PFF’s Jonathan Macri wrote on May 14. “He played a career-high 1,042 defensive snaps — almost double his previous career high — and looked more comfortable than he ever has in Vance Joseph’s defense, putting him in the conversation as one of the league’s best heading into 2025.”
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