The Philadelphia Eagles added competition and depth to a safety room that has a starting spot available by selecting Texas safety Andrew Mukuba with the No. 64 pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
Before transferring to Texas, Mukuba spent three seasons at Clemson where he was named the ACC’s Defensive Rookie of the Year. Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables then left to accept the head-coaching position at Oklahoma, and Mukuba’s progress flatlined over the next two seasons. Instead of declaring for the draft, Mukuba entered the transfer portal, enrolled at Texas and finished with the best season of his career.
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Though undersized, Mukuba was a disciplined playmaker. He led the Longhorns with five interceptions. He did not draw a penalty in his final 26 games, spanning back to his Clemson days. He flourished in big games, securing an interception in both a regular-season loss to Georgia and the College Football Playoff quarterfinal win over Arizona State. He was the seventh-highest rated safety in The Athletic draft expert Dane Brugler’s rankings.
‘The Beast’ breakdown
Green ranked No. 109 in Brugler’s top 300 big board. Here’s what Brugler had to say about him in his annual NFL Draft guide:
A one-year starter at Texas, Mukuba primarily lined up as the free safety in defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski’s 4-2-5 base scheme. Although he made a name for himself as a freshman All-American at Clemson, he put inconsistent play on tape as a sophomore and junior nickel after Brent Venables left the program. Considered at that point a borderline draft pick, he transferred to Austin for his senior year and played the best ball of his career, giving a boost to his projection.
Mukuba is at his best flying through alleys with urgency and conviction, but also with enough control to course correct angles while at full speed to leverage the run. He plays bigger than he looks, but he has mediocre finishing strength and some teams are worried about long-term durability because of his aggressive play style. Despite an average athletic profile, he is quick to read run/pass and shows terrific discipline in coverage (18 passes defended, zero penalties over his final 26 games in college). Overall, Mukuba’s lack of size will be more noticeable against NFL competition, both in coverage and run support, but he brings energy, instincts and play speed to the secondary. He has the mentality and talent to compete for a starting role at free safety.
ANDREW. MUKUBA. EVERYONE.#HookEm | #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/XdPdLsm5dB
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) January 1, 2025
Nick Baumgardner grades the pick
Mukuba had a great lone season at Texas last year after being a bit up and down throughout the latter half of his Clemson career. Saving his best for last, Mukuba flashed as an explosive run-fitter with great coverage range last season – finally living up to his elite recruiting profile. I like Mukuba, but liked a few other safeties (Xavier Watts and Kevin Winston, specifically) better. This feels a touch high for Mukuba, but Howie Roseman rarely misses.
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How he fits
What Mukuba lacks in size (5-11, 186) he makes up for in productivity. He spent three seasons at Clemson before transferring to Texas, where he led the Longhorns with five interceptions in his final collegiate season. The Eagles prioritize takeaways in the secondary, and they’ll need to make up for the potential losses they could see after the C.J. Gardner-Johnson trade. Gardner-Johnson led the team with six interceptions, including a pick-six.
Depth-chart impact
The Eagles needed to backfill the vacancy in their safety room from the Gardner-Johsnon trade. Mukuba will become the fifth safety under contract in Philadelphia. The Eagles hold confidence in Sydney Brown, a 2023 third-round pick who suffered a late ACL tear as a rookie. Brown contributed on special teams in 2024 and will compete for a starting spot opposite Reed Blankenship, who’s entering the final year of his contract. Mukuba adds competition to the room. His four-year contract also supplies long-term depth.
They also could have picked …
Immediately after the Eagles selected Mukuba, the New York Giants picked Toledo defensive tackle Darius Alexander. The Eagles lost Milton Williams to the New England Patriots during the free agency cycle, and it wouldn’t have been surprising to see the Eagles add an interior defensive linemen in the early rounds. They could also stand to add depth at cornerback after parting ways with Darius Slay and James Bradberry. But plenty of cornerback prospects remain on the board.
Fast evaluation
Safety was arguably the Eagles’ biggest need entering the draft. There’s a vacancy opposite Blankenship, and they only had four safeties under contract. Three had playing experience. The Eagles have never drafted a safety in the first round in the Super Bowl era — a streak that continues. But a second-round pick is still a notably high investment. The Eagles last spent a second-round pick on a safety in 2011 on Jaiquawn Jarrett at No. 54 overall.
(Photo: Jerome Miron / Imagn Images)
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