It took 29 preseason snaps for Eagles to solve their biggest roster question
It’s been a unique offseason for the Philadelphia Eagles, who thanks to GM Howie Roseman’s mass collection of 2026 draft capital, have prioritized the trade market over free agency to fine tune their roster.
In the month of August alone, the Eagles have acquired CB Jakorian Bennett, WR John Metchie III, swing tackle Fred Johnson and QB Sam Howell. They’ve also swapped an assortment of future draft picks, and still have a projected seven Day 3 selections for 2026 that can be used to solve other problem areas on the fringes of the 53-man roster.
Philly’s two unsolved mysteries entering Week 1 of the regular season remain at cornerback and safety. Will the Eagles go with ninth-year veteran Adoree’ Jackson, or the 23-year-old Kelee Ringo as the starting outside corner opposite Quinyon Mitchell? And did Sydney Brown show the coaches enough in camp to win the starting safety job over second-round rookie Andrew Mukuba?
We might not get either of those answers definitively until opening night on Sept. 4, but when it comes to the starting safety spot alongside Reed Blankenship, it took one half of preseason football for defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and company to find their guy.
PFF names Eagles safety Andrew Mukuba among NFL’s top emerging rookies, and they’re right
D ue to a shoulder injury early in training camp, Mukuba was limited to 29 total snaps in Philly’s three preseason games, per Pro Football Focus. The good news for the Eagles? That’s all the time they needed to find their replacement for C.J. Garnder-Johnson in 2025.
We’re projecting here, but Mukuba’s preseason debut in Week 2 against the Browns was about as good as it gets. PFF charted him with a 15.3 passer rating allowed when targeted in coverage, and he left Eagles fans buzzing with a pick-six and fumble recovery before getting the rest of the game off.
PFF writer Mason Cameron sees yet another Day 2 star in the making for Roseman and the Eagles.
“The Eagles know how to find impact players in the draft, and second-round pick Andrew Mukuba is just another example. The former Texas safety is having an excellent preseason, boasting the highest PFF coverage grade (94.2) at the position, thanks to an impressive pick-six against the Browns in preseason Week 2.”
Brown got the start at safety in each of the Eagles’ first two preseason games. There’s a physical nature to his game that’s hard to ignore, and he’s probably still the favorite to start in Week 1. As we learned with Cooper DeJean’s situation in 2024, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio won’t just throw a rookie on the field in a real game setting. He wants to see reps, and Mukuba’s shoulder issue shifted some valuable first-team reps Brown’s way.
But we all saw what happened for the Eagles once Fangio inserted DeJean into the starting lineup last year. It’s only a matter of time for Mukuba, who in a small sample size looked like another star defensive back in the making for Philly’s top-ranked defense.
