4. Wake Forest S Malik Mustapha
Malik Mustapha is an interesting safety prospect in this year's draft class as his playstyle is old school and his size and frame are pretty unique for a safety. For the Giants, though, with Shane Bowen's history of developing safeties, Mustapha may be their guy, especially with their lack of a run-support safety.
Through 12 games at Wake Forest in 2023, Mustapha racked up 78 combined tackles and two forced fumbles. Mustapha is one of the best in his class at taking down ball carriers, whether it be his absurd aggressiveness, compact frame, or good tackling fundamentals. While his aggressiveness can cause some issues at times, it wasn't a big enough problem to affect his draft stock much.
When it comes to the NFL, Mustapha doesn't project to be a high safety. Not only does he lack size and length, but he often gives too much space in deep zones and has questionable instincts. Despite this, he was very successful as a short/medium zone safety in coverage and this, combined with the aforementioned run-stopping prowess, makes him a very fun prospect to watch.
Mustapha is a tantalizing athlete with traits that make him a high-upside prospect if he can figure out his coverage issues. Under Bowen, there's no telling what Mustapha can become. Regardless, he, at the very least, looks like a Julian Love-type of player, which can be very valuable for a team that just allowed the fourth-most rushing yards in the NFL last season.