PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles felt they got the best available player in the first round Thursday night when they traded up one spot to select Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell at No. 31 overall.
Most, if not all, draft experts agreed with them.
What they didn’t necessarily get was one of their top roster needs.
Round two was different as the team went after the potential replacement for C.J. Gardner-Johnson at safety by selecting Texas’ Andrew Mukuba. The 5-11, 186-pound Mukuba had an outstanding 2024 season after transferring from Clemson, where he had been a three-year starter. He finished last season with five interceptions, four tackles for loss and a forced fumble.
“What a great addition to our program Andrew was,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “Not just as a player, but as a leader, a teammate and a tremendous example of hard work and dedication.”
Mukuba, 22, could compete for the starting safety job against Sydney Brown, Tristin McCollum and former Georgia star Lewis Cine, who the Eagles added to the roster during the playoffs last season. Mukuba played mostly as a deep safety last season, but he also received extensive playing time as a slot cornerback during his sophomore and junior seasons at Clemson. It was not considered his strength.
“Andrew is very versatile,” Sarkisian said. “He played well in the run game, is excellent in pass defense and has some position flexibility. I think the Eagles will see his practice habits, his preparation and the things that lead to positive performances on game day will really make him a great pro.”
Mukuba was the third safety to be selected in the draft and the second in the second round.
Georgia’s Malaki Starks was taken 27th overall by Baltimore Thursday and South Carolina’s Nick Emmanwori went at 35 overall in the second round to Seattle.
Other top safeties still on the board when the Eagles selected included Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts, Penn State’s Kevin Winston, Oklahoma’s Billy Bowman and Virginia’s Jonas Sanker.
The Eagles were ever so close to getting a shot to select Mississippi cornerback Trey Amos, but he went three picks before them to the NFC East rival Washington Commanders, who were also in need of help at the position. Amos was the sixth cornerback in the draft to come off the board and the third in the second round. The Eagles, of course, released veteran starter Darius Slay shortly after their Super Bowl win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Two defensive tackles — Texas A&M’s Shemar Turner and Tennessee’s Omarr Norman-Lott — came off the board in the two picks ahead of the Eagles, who could stand to add some depth on the defensive interior after losing Milton Williams in free agency.
The conventional wisdom is that the Eagles will select a tight end before this draft is over because they have veteran Dallas Goedert on the trade market. So far five tight ends have come off the board.
Michigan’s Colston Loveland and Penn State’s Tyler Warren went in the first round Thursday night and LSU’s Mason Taylor, Oregon’s Terrance Ferguson and Miami’s Elijah Arroyo were selected in the second round.
Starting with the selection of Goedert in 2018 after trading out of the first round, the Eagles have hit on every second-round selection they’ve made.
The six picks they’ve made in the second round since that year are Goedert, Miles Sanders, Jalen Hurts, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens and Cooper DeJean.
Four of those six players (Goedert, Hurts, Dickerson and Jurgens) were on the roster for both of the team’s Super Bowl appearances in the last three seasons and all six played in at least one of the two titles games. Those six have also combined for seven Pro Bowl appearances.
Will Mukuba join that elite group of second-round picks?
Time will tell.
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Bob Brookover can be reached at [email protected]
