Buffalo Rumblings
What would Mukuba bring to the table with the Buffalo Bills?
The Buffalo Bills may have a sneaky need at safety, even if it’s not the first offered by anyone covering the team these days. Yes, there’s Taylor Rapp and Cole Bishop entering (who’s entering his second season). But beyond that pair, Buffalo has just two other safeties vying to start on defense in 2025 — yet both Damar Hamlin and Darrick Forrest Jr. are only signed through the upcoming season.
It’s true that any of those four could start at safety, given their combined experience in that role. But there’s a bit of injury concern with Rapp, (perhaps an over-reactive) lack of confidence in Hamlin, while Bishop and Forrest remain largely unknown as prospects with Buffalo’s defense.
So whether you see safety as important enough to tackle in the 2025 NFL Draft, don’t be surprised if One Bills Drive places some emphasis on adding talent to the room. Will that come courtesy of an early pick, or in someone found late on Day 3? It’s of course anyone’s guess, but a name you should familiarize yourself with is Andrew Mukuba, who played collegiately at Clemson before transferring to Texas.
Mukuba has the potential to be an instant contributor for the Bills. He put together a solid season with the Longhorns in 2024, totaling 41 tackles, one forced fumble and five interceptions. Let’s look at some film to see what Mukuba bring to the table.
An essential skill for any safety is ability to make one-on-one tackles since they are the last line of defense. So how well does Mukuba function in that role? Above, at the snap Mukuba came downhill to meet the charging running back at his preferred hole in the line. Mukuba put himself in perfect tackling position to make the solo tackle to end the play.
One of the more underrated functions of playing safety is a knack for getting off blocks to make the tackle. Above, we see Mukuba started off in the box. At the snap he heads down hill toward the line of scrimmage only to find himself immediately engaged with a blocker. Mukuba quickly shed the block and then aggressively pursued the ball carrier despite two teammates already being there.
Teams want their safeties to bring a menacing presence to the field, especially when wide receivers come across the middle to make a game-breaking play. Here above, Mukuba sat and read where the quarterback was going with the football. Once the pass was thrown across the middle, Mukuba sprinted to meet the pass in the middle, hitting the receiver so hard he dropped the ball.
Andrew Mukuba is a prototypical NFL safety — someone who hits hard over the middle, acts as a proficient solo tackler, and sheds blocks. He has all the attributes needed to become a great in-the-box safety.
What do you...
