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When CJ Gardner-Johnson was released by the Houston Texans, Philadelphia Eagles fans over the world banged the table to see Howie Roseman re-sign the veteran safety and send presumed rookie replacement Andrew Mukuba to the bench.
A highly anticipated second-round pick out of Texas who had slot cornerback experience from his time at Clemson, Mukuba struggled early on with assignments, on-ball coverage, and most crucially, tackling, with his six missed tackles ranking among the worst marks on the team.
And yet, in the opinion of Fangio, those early struggles were worth it, as he told reporters Tuesday that Mukuba settling in has been a massive part of the Eagles’ defensive dominance as of late.
“Yes. That’s a part of us playing better, too,” Fangio told reporters. “Early in the year, he had some bad plays that led to big plays for the opponent, and we haven’t had that lately.”
Asked if Mukuba’s growing pains are a normal part of the transition from college to the NFL, Fangio said yes, recalling some old bits of wisdom before handing his free safety the ultimate compliment.
“Yeah, I think I told you guys a story, [former NFL Head Coach] Bud Grant always used to say, ‘For every rookie you play, add a loss to your loss column.’ I heard another guy say, ‘You’ve got to pay taxes on when you play rookies.’ But now it’s game eleven coming up, he’s not a rookie anymore,” Fangio noted.
After beginning the summer as a reserve safety while he learned the ins and outs of Fangio’s defense, Mukuba has been on the field for 93 percent of the Eagles’ defensive snaps so far in 2025, with his 601 total snaps ranking fourth on the team behind only Zack Baun, Cooper DeJean, and Reed Blankenship. Mukuba was allowed to make mistakes, played drives after allowing a pair of touchdowns, and ultimately improved from September to October into November.
If this trend continues, the Eagles might not just have one of the best defenses in the NFL long-term, but a cost-controlled starter at safety while players like Jalen Carter and Jaelan Phillips approach huge paydays.
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