Sportsnaut
The Philadelphia Eagles seemingly struck gold with their first two selections in the 2025 NFL Draft with linebacker Jihaad Campbell and safety Andrew Mukuba. Both have impressed in their first four weeks of the season, one enough that an NFL analyst has him as a Defensive Rookie of the Year favorite. But, surprisingly, it’s not the first-round pick.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell has Mukuba — Philadelphia’s second-round pick — third behind San Francisco 49ers cornerback Upton Stout and Cleveland Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger.
It’s surprising Barnwell ranked Mukuba — who has played well — ahead of Campbell. The 31st overall pick out of Alabama is 12th out of 132 linebackers in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. He has one interception, a forced fumble, two pass breakups and 22 tackles.
Pro Football Focus has Mukuba as the 99th safety out of 130, with a 45.5 coverage grade — 119th out of 130. In his first four games, Mukuba has an interception, one pass breakup, a half-sack and 19 tackles.
Barnwell explained why he ranked Mukuba over Campbell.
“There’s a lot to like about what we’ve seen from him, especially in a [defensive coordinator] Vic Fangio defense that relies on its safeties to disguise their intentions and mask their coverage concepts pre- and even post-snap. Though he was hit-sticked by Patrick Mahomes, Mukuba’s highlights in the Eagles’ win over the Chiefs were a great example of what he can do,” writes Barnwell.
“He flew into the backfield from deep and helped make a tackle for loss on Isiah Pacheco, came off the slot for a pressure and half-sack of Mahomes, went over the top of a pick play and still managed to tackle Hollywood Brown for no gain on a third-and-1 crosser, and caught a deflection off Travis Kelce’s hands for an interception and 41-yard return.”
Andrew Mukuba today:
6 tackles
0.5 sack
1 QB hit
1 TFL
1 INT
1 pass defensedThe former Longhorn did it all against Mahomes and the chiefs #HookEm | #Texas
— Cory Mose (@Cory_Mose) September 14, 2025
Barnwell continued: “Mukuba is making plays all over the field and has instantly looked as if he belongs in one of the league’s best defenses. Jihaad Campbell has also been a quick study at linebacker, though the first-rounder did allow a 72-yard touchdown to Bucky Irving up the sidelines on a scramble drill in Week 4.”
This week, Fangio said that Mukuba is now the full-time starter over Sydney Brown as the rookie has started the previous three weeks.
The Eagles face the Denver Broncos at home in Sunday’s Week 5 matchup.
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