Philadelphia Eagles rookie second-round safety Andrew Mukuba was the steal of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Ever wonder how the best teams seem to have great drafts every year? Intelligent front offices make intelligent picks, and since the best teams don’t have glaring holes to fill, they can always take the best player available.
Mukuba was exactly that—the best player on the board at the 64th spot.
Philadelphia’s defense is already spoiled for riches, and they got a gem at the bottom of the second round. Don’t expect a long wait until Mukuba makes the starting spot his own and becomes a standout player in the Eagles’ league-best defense.
Entering a favorable situation
Safety is one of Philly’s very few positions with legitimate competition for the starting spot. The departure of C.J. Gardner-Johnson left a hole next to Reed Blankenship, leaving incumbent Tristin McCollum and Mukuba to fight for the Week 1 nod.
The Birds ranked first in yards and second in points allowed per game and were sixth in DVOA after they inserted Cooper DeJean into the starting lineup after their Week 5 bye. They also had 16 sacks and 13 takeaways in the playoffs, which ranked third and eighth all-time.
This historically dominant defense powered the team to 16 wins in its final 17 games, culminating in an uncompetitive Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Eagles scored elite marks in nearly every major defensive metric. Their biggest sore spot was rushing yards allowed per attempt, in which they were 11th.
A team finishing one spot outside of the top 10 in its “worst” category is certainly a recipe for success.
Nearly every team goes through the offseason believing it improved — the question here is if improvement is even possible for Philly, who will be at the center of every other team’s offseason film study and strategic planning.
Enter Mukuba, who is exactly what the Eagles need to put themselves in a position to win a second straight Super Bowl.
Andrew Mukuba is perfect for the Eagles
A 5-11, 186-pounder, Mukuba was a star in Texas’ elite secondary. He tied for the SEC lead with five interceptions, forced a fumble, and was third in Pro Football Focus’ coverage rankings for safeties in the 2025 draft class.
Three of his five interceptions came against ranked opponents, including No. 10 Michigan, No. 5 Georgia, and No. 4 Arizona State (in the College Football Playoff).
On top of that, Mukuba’s 12.1 passer rating allowed was the fourth-lowest mark in the country. He also forced incompletions on 26.1 percent of attempts when targeted, well above the “elite” 15-20 percent range. He clearly knew how to put his 4.45 speed to good use.
It should also come as no surprise that Mukuba didn’t allow a single touchdown in coverage, even after playing an entire regular season and three games in the CFP. He did most of his work from deep (71.3 percent of snaps), but also came down into the box (18.1 percent) and lined up in the slot (10 percent).
He had an average missed tackle rate for his position, but his three highest tackling outputs of the season came in his final four games of the season in the SEC Championship Game and CFP.
The 22-year-old also comes with a great pedigree after spending three years at Clemson and one at Texas. Plus, his one season with the Longhorns saw the team rank second in points allowed per game and yards allowed per play.
Positioning and team outlook
The outgoing Gardner-Johnson had 59 tackles, 12 pass deflections, six interceptions and one forced fumble a year ago. Those numbers almost exactly mirror Mukuba’s senior campaign in Austin.
While Gardner-Johnson was a valuable contributor to a truly terrific defense, he was also one of the most replaceable members. Philly swapped him and a 2026 sixth-round pick with the Houston Texans for guard Kenyon Green, an expected starter, and a 2026 fifth-round pick.
Gardner-Johnson will take $9 million off the Texans’ cap in 2025, while Mukuba will cost the Eagles just $840,000. That gives them more maneuverability throughout the 2025 and 2026 offseasons with players such as Cam Jurgens, Dallas Goedert, and Nakobe Dean entering the final year of their current deals.
Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Nolan Smith, and others will be up in 2026.
It’s tough to imagine how the Eagles will continue to balance their books considering how many guys they need to pay… but that is the best kind of problem to have.
One way to soften the blow of losing high-value contributors? Continue to hit on draft picks.
Mukuba has all of the makings of a full-time starter on the Eagles’ defense, and without a long runway to get there. He’s athletic and physical, produces the ball, willingly closes down running lanes, and is elite in coverage. That’s crucial with the receiver and quarterback talent in the division.
On a defense chock-full of stars, don’t forget about Mukuba. He, DeJean, and Quinyon Mitchell are the prototypical young secondary that nearly every other general manager in the league hopes to assemble.
