After trading up one pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles sat at the end of the second round and watched from afar. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman saw seven players that Philadelphia hosted on pre-draft visits get selected before it was time to submit a pick. Once Philadelphia was finally on the clock, the Eagles selected Texas safety Andrew Mukuba with the 64th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Mukuba is a native of Zimbabwe who moved to the United States of America when he was nine-years-old. After playing three seasons at Clemson, Mukuba transferred to Texas and had a ton of success in his only season with the Longhorns. In 12 starts, the Safety recorded 69 total tackles, seven pass breakups, five interceptions and four tackles for loss.
While Mukuba is undersized at just 5’11”, 186 lbs. with 30″ arms, he makes up for his lack of size with elite instincts. He is also very versatile and can play multiple roles in the secondary. According to Pro Football Focus, Mukuba played 1,181 snaps as a deep safety, 803 snaps as a slot defender and 415 snaps as a box defender.
After trading former starting safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans earlier in the offseason, Philadelphia had a massive void at the position. While many expected Sidney Brown to compete for a starting role, it sure feels like Mukuba is in the driver’s seat to be the starter alongside Reed Blankenship at safety. Mukuba’s versatility and ball skills should give him the edge over Brown in 2025.
It’s worth noting that Penn State safety Kevin Winston Jr. and Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts were both still available when the Eagles selected Mukuba with the 64th overall pick. Winston reportedly had a pre-draft visit with the Eagles and Watts was regarded as one of the best safeties in this year’s draft class. Yet the Eagles clearly value Mukuba’s instincts and starting experience at both Clemson and Texas.
Although Mukuba didn’t have a reported pre-draft visit with the Eagles, he did have multiple meetings with the team. Mukuba had a formal meeting with the Eagles at the NFL Combine, which is a notable interaction, as each team is limited to just 45 formal meetings at the event. Mukuba also reportedly had a virtual meeting with the Eagles in the lead-up to the 2025 NFL Draft as well.
Through the first two rounds of the event, Philadelphia has added two versatile defensive weapons for Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio to deploy in 2025 and beyond. Now we’ll wait to see if the Eagles will address the defensive side of the ball once again in the third round or give first-year offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo a shiny new toy to work with.
The Eagles aren’t scheduled to pick again until the end of the third round with the 96th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. While Roseman was content and waited to pick at the end of the second round, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Philadelphia get aggressive and move up in the third round, which is what they did in the first round to secure defensive weapon Jihaad Campbell..
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