With training camp underway, the Philadelphia Eagles head into the unofficial start of the 2025 season with one of the best rosters in the NFL as they prepare to defend their Super Bowl championship.
Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, AJ Brown, Devonta Smith, and co. are seemingly ready to run it back on offense behind one of the best lines in all of football. The Eagles' attention turned to the defensive side of the ball this offseason.
The Eagles' first five selections of this year's NFL Draft were defensive players: linebacker Jihaad Campbell (31st overall), safety Andrew Mukuba (64th overall), defensive tackle Ty Robinson (111th overall), cornerback Mac McWilliams (145th overall), and linebacker Smael Mondon (161st overall).
With one of the best and deepest front sevens in the league, the Eagles' only potential weakness seems to be a couple of spots in the secondary, something one of the club's early draft picks may take advantage of heading into training camp.
Eagles Rookie May Earn Starting Role After Training Camp
With first-round rookie, Jihaad Campbell continuing his recovery, coupled with the Eagles having the likes of Nolan Smith Jr., Zack Baun, Nakobe Dean, and Azeez Ojulari all projected to rotate as starters at linebacker, the club will likely be in no rush in pressuring Campbell to have a big role as his rookie campaign begins...however there may be another rookie on the defensive side of the ball set for a major role early on for the defending champions.
After the Eagles traded CJ Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans earlier this offseason, the starting safety spot next to Reed Blankenship became an open competition. With former Minnesota Vikings first-round pick Lewis Cine hoping to latch onto the roster, youngsters Sydney Brown and Tristin McCollum are also in the mix to fill the void left by Gardner-Johnson's departure.
However, the favorite to stand opposite Blankenship in the defensive backfield may very well be second-round rookie Andrew Mukuba. The Eagles selected Mukuba with the 64th overall pick of this past April's NFL Draft.
After spending the first three years of his collegiate career at Clemson, Mukuba transferred to Texas ahead of the 2024 season. The senior safety put up career numbers with the Longhorns, notching 69 total tackles to go along with a forced fumble and five interceptions, cementing himself as one of the best safety prospects heading into the draft. Mukuba was the third safety selected in this year's draft, behind Malaki Starks (27th to the Baltimore Ravens) and Nick Emmanwori (35th to the Seattle Seahawks).