Talanoa Hufanga (Tongan: [ˌtalaˈnoa huˈfaŋa] TA-luh-noh-uh hoo-FAHNG-ə; born February 1, 2000) is an American professional football strong safety for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL draft.
Hufanga attended Crescent Valley High School in Corvallis, Oregon. He played safety, wide receiver, and quarterback. As a senior in 2017, Hufanga was the Polynesian High School National Player of the Year. He played in the 2018 U.S. Army All-American Game. Hufanga committed to the University of Southern California (USC) to play college football.
As a true freshman at USC in 2018, Hufanga played in eight games with five starts before suffering a season-ending broken collarbone. He finished the season with 51 tackles.
As a sophomore in 2019, Hufanga started all 10 games he played in and recorded 90 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
As a junior in 2020, Hufanga returned to USC as a starter. He and BYU quarterback Zach Wilson were selected as co-recipients of the 2020 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award. For the 2020 season, Hufanga was a Consensus All-American. He also won Pac-12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
NFL.com lead analyst Lance Zierlein projected Hufanga to be selected in the fourth or fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Bleacher Report had him ranked as the 12th best safety prospect and projected him to be selected in the fourth round. Dane Brugler of the Athletic had Hufanga ranked as the eighth best safety prospect. Scouts Inc. had him as the 20th best safety in their big board (212th overall).
The San Francisco 49ers selected Hufanga in the fifth round (180th overall) of the 2021 NFL draft. He was the 14th safety drafted in 2021. On May 13, 2021, the 49ers signed Hufanga to a four-year, $3.72 million rookie contract that includes an initial signing bonus of $240,152.
Throughout training camp, Hufanga competed to be the starting strong safety against Tavon Wilson, Tarvarius Moore, and Jaquiski Tartt. Head coach Kyle Shanahan named Hufanga the No. 2 strong safety on the depth chart to begin the season.
Hufanga made his professional regular season debut during the season-opening 41–33 road victory over the Detroit Lions, but saw limited snaps on defense and special teams. During Week 8 against the Chicago Bears, Hufanga earned his first career start in place of Jaquiski Tartt, who was placed on injured reserve. Hufanga finished the 33–22 road victory with a season-high five tackles. Two weeks later against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football, Hufanga recorded three tackles and a pass deflection in the 31–10 victory.
During a Week 12 34–26 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, Hufanga had two tackles and a pass deflection. Two weeks later against the Cincinnati Bengals, he tied his season-high of five tackles in the 26–23 overtime road victory. Hufanga was inactive for two games (Weeks 16–17) due to a knee injury.
Hufanga finished his rookie year with 32 tackles and two pass deflections in 15 games and three starts. He received an overall grade of 62.5 from Pro Football Focus as a rookie. The 49ers finished third in the NFC West with a 10–7 record and qualified for the playoffs as the #6-seed. In the Divisional Round against the Green Bay Packers, Hufanga made his postseason debut and scored his first NFL touchdown after returning a punt that was blocked by defensive lineman Jordan Willis during the fourth quarter of the 13–10 road victory.
During training camp, Hufanga competed to be a starting safety against Tayler Hawkins, Leon O'Neal Jr., and George Odum. Head coach Kyle Shanahan named him the starting strong safety to begin the season alongside Tashaun Gipson.
During the season-opening 19–10 road loss to the Bears, Hufanga had a team-high 11 tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception. In the next game against the Seattle Seahawks, he recorded six tackles and two pass deflections during the 27–7 victory. Two weeks later against the Rams on Monday Night Football, Hufanga had four tackles, a pass deflection, and a 52-yard pick six in the 24–9 victory.
During Week 5 against the Carolina Panthers, Hufanga recorded five tackles, a pass deflection, and his first NFL sack on Baker Mayfield in the 37–15 road victory. Two weeks later against the Kansas City Chiefs, he had four tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception in the 44–23 loss. During a Week 10 22–16 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football, Hufanga recorded two tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception.
During a Week 12 13–0 shutout victory over the New Orleans Saints, Hufanga had a team-high nine tackles and a forced fumble. Three weeks later against the Seahawks on Thursday Night Football, he recorded five tackles, a pass deflection, and a strip-sack as the 49ers clinched the NFC West with a 21–13 road victory. In the next game against the Washington Commanders, he had eight tackles and a pass deflection during the 37–20 victory.
Hufanga finished his second professional season started with 97 tackles, nine pass deflections, a career-high four interceptions, two forced fumbles, and a sack in 17 games and starts. He earned a Pro Bowl nomination and first team All-Pro honors. Hufanga received an overall grade of 72.1 from Pro Football Focus in 2022. The 49ers finished atop the NFC West with a 13–4 record and qualified for the playoffs as the #2-seed. During the Wild Card Round against the Seahawks, Hufanga made his first career start in a playoff game and finished the 41–23 victory with five tackles. In the Divisional Round against the Dallas Cowboys, Hufanga once again had five tackles during the 19–12 victory. During the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles, he had six tackles and a pass deflection in the 31–7 road loss. Hufanga was ranked 78th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2023.
On February 9, 2023, the 49ers hired Steve Wilks to be their new defensive coordinator after DeMeco Ryans accepted the head coaching position with the Houston Texans. Head coach Kyle Shanahan named Hufanga as the starting strong safety to begin the season and paired him with Tashaun Gipson.
During the season-opening 30–7 road victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Hufanga had five tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception. Two weeks later against the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football, he recorded a tackle, a pass deflection, and an interception in the 30–12 victory.