Philadelphia Eagles rookie safety Andrew Mukuba earned first-team reps over veteran Sydney Brown during Tuesday’s training camp practice, according to mulitple reports.
Mukuba, a second-round pick out of Texas in the 2025 NFL Draft, has overall handled the transition to the pros well so far, despite missing some practice time due to an injury while acknowledging that the game is noticeably more challenging than in college.
“I mean, it’s a lot different than college, I’ll tell you that,” Mukuba told reporters after practice on Tuesday. “The quarterbacks at this level, just one little mistake, they’re going to make you pay for it. Just knowing that and knowing how accurate and how on point and how they study the defense to make things a lot easier for them. But it’s a lot different than college, I’ll tell you that. The quarterbacks here are much better. Obviously, they’re in the NFL, so there are some throws that they can make that I had never seen in college. So just seeing that aspect just tells me it’s different at this level.”
The Eagles traded C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans earlier this offseason then turned to Mukuba 64th overall in the draft. Before making the jump to the NFL, Mukuba had a standout final season with the Longhorns, recording 69 tackles, five interceptions, 12 pass breakups, and a forced fumble.
Mukuba getting first-team looks means the Eagles aren’t neccessarily hell-bent on Brown taking over the starting safety job. After sitting out against the Cincinnati Bengals last week due to a shoulder injury, Mukuba will finally get a chance to really show off his skills in the team’s second preseason game vs. the Cleveland Browns on Saturday afternoon.