The San Francisco 49ers' cornerback room is the deepest and best they've had in the Kyle Shanahan era, but there were clear issues in the secondary during last Sunday's Week 2 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. 

Third cornerback Isaac Yiadom endured a difficult day, giving up three receptions to allow the Vikings to convert three third downs on a final drive on which they essentially iced the game with a field goal. At safety, both Ji'Ayir Brown and George Odum were burnt on the biggest play of the game, a remarkable 97-yard strike from former 49ers quarterback Sam Darnold to Justin Jefferson.

Jefferson, the league's best receiver, blew past Brown and Odum with alarming ease, highlighting the 49ers' vulnerability at the position without All-Pro Talanoa Hufanga, who again missed out as he continues his recovery from a torn ACL suffered last November. 

The 49ers may well be pondering a change at that third corner spot, with Renardo Green catching the eye in limited snaps in Week 2. San Francisco has publicly expressed a lot of faith in the second-round rookie and nothing he did against Minnesota suggested he would be a clear downgrade on Yiadom.

At safety, the solution may be on the horizon this week, with head coach Kyle Shanahan sounding a positive note on Monday when asked about Hufanga's progress.

“He’s looking good. He’s had two good weeks," said Shanahan. "Had a real good week last week, so hopefully he can get in and play this week and have three good practices."

There's no guarantee Hufanga would have made a play to stop Darnold and Jefferson from connecting in such spectacular fashion, but it's clear the 49ers entered 2024 with the plan being to pair a safety who was arguably the most dynamic player in the league at his position in his All-Pro year in 2022 with Brown, rather than having to rely on a career special teamer in Odum.

Simply put, Odum can't affect the game at all three levels in the way Hufanga has done in the past, and a game with a Los Angeles Rams team set to be minus its top two offensive weapons in Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua could be a perfect one for Hufanga to knock the rust off and establish his connection with Brown.

Hufanga's potential return is also timely because of the standard of performances in another area of the back seven.

Though linebacker Fred Warner has looked like a Defensive Player of the Year contender in the first two games, the play from others at his position has been uninspiring.

De'Vondre Campbell hasn't been a liability by any means as he has filled in for the injured Dre Greenlaw at WILL linebacker, but he clearly does not have the same athletic ability and speed to the ball as Greenlaw, who in last year's postseason made plays in coverage that would appear to be beyond Campbell.

As such, it was no surprise that Campbell was off the field late in the Vikings game as the 49ers went to more dime looks with six defensive backs. 

With Hufanga potentially back in the mix, he would be a candidate to serve as a de-facto extra linebacker in such personnel packages on which the Niners could use three safeties. Rookie Malik Mustapha ate into Odum's snaps in Week 2.

Hufanga's return doesn't mean there won't be more coverage busts at safety this year, but the ceiling of the secondary and the defense as a whole is higher with him in the lineup. 

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford will make sure the 49ers' Week 3 rivalry matchup is no walk in the park, but Hufanga looks primed to return at a point in the season where the need for his services has already been made obvious and where San Francisco is set to face a very depleted opponent. The timing could hardly be better.

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