Why this defender can significantly change the 49ers defense

The 49ers need this player to return as soon as possible.

San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh (in red). | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The San Francisco 49ers are expecting to get Malik Mustapha back soon, and it could be as soon as this week. The addition would come at a much-needed time, considering the back end of the defense is starting to have some trouble.

San Francisco 49ers are getting Malik Mustapha back at the right time 

San Francisco 49ers safety Malik Mustapha (6). | Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

Marques Sigle has been a great asset as a rookie sixth-round pick. He is overshooting expectations. However, the issues are starting to show. While the Los Angeles Rams turned the football over so much that they could not take advantage, the yards were starting to pile up against the defense. 

The Rams exposed an area of the field that they consistently went to, and that was the middle. Between Dee Winters, Upton Stout, and Marques Sigle, they had three players who were not starters last season and two who were rookies. The three of them allowed 307 of the 389 yards that Stafford compiled throughout the game. When Stafford needed a big play, he was not thinking which of his skill players to throw to, it was which 49ers defender is going to get picked on. 

With this on tape and with better quarterbacks coming, teams were going to expose this area. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in particular, are a bad matchup. They have two legitimate wide receivers in Chris Godwin and Emeka Egbuka. Egbuka has run 39% of his routes from the slot, and Godwin is at 43%, despite playing in just two games so far. 

Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

The Bucs will mix-and-match their alignment, but in most cases, one of these wideouts is on the outside and the other is in the slot. We saw against the Seattle Seahawks that Tampa Bay can do a good job of setting up the mismatch that they want pre-snap due to the slot capabilities, and they can attack the specific defender that they want. 

If the 49ers have Stout and Sigle against one of Godwin or Egbua all day, this is going to be a high-scoring affair. Even with Mustapha, it is going to be a challenge. That is a lot to ask of Mustapha as well, especially in his first game back from a serious injury. 

However, his presence at least gives teams a warning that it may not be the same outcome if they try the middle of the field this time around. It is hard to say because he is just returning, but the status of Mustapha may determine how well the 49ers' defense plays this week.