49ers Safety Malik Mustapha Looks Jacked Heading into Year 2

Every offseason, one second-year player comes back to the team looking noticeably bigger and stronger than they were as a rookie.

This year, that player is Malik Mustapha.

He showed up to the 49ers' Local Pro Day this past week looking like he had put on five pounds of muscle. He looked like a five-year veteran with six percent body fat, not a fourth-round pick who was a rookie just a few months ago.

Keep in mind, Mustapha didn't have to come to the local Pro Day. It was a 45-minute tryout for college football players who are from the Bay Area or play football in the Bay Area and probably won't get drafted.

Mustapha came anyway. And by doing so, he sent the message that he is obsessed with football and extremely serious about his craft. I remember Brandon Aiyuk went to the 49ers' local Pro Day just before he had a major breakout season.

It's like Aiyuk and Mustapha wanted coaches and players and scouts and journalists to see all the work they'd been putting in. To see the transformation from promising young player to team leader.

Last year, Mustapha started 12 games and flashed big-time potential. He's only 5'10", but he's extremely muscular and fast and he hits hard. Still, he looked like he had a rookie's body when he was on the field. And he infamously bounced off Patrick Mahomes early in the season when Mahomes ran him over during a touchdown run.