Eagles News: Drew Mukuba draws comparisons to Budda Baker and other All-Pro safeties

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Could Eagles rookie Andrew Mukuba start? Winding road to NFL prepped him for challenge – The AthleticThe Eagles most appreciate the versatility Mukuba affords them in coverage. Roseman emphasized upon drafting Mukuba that it’s “really hard to find cover safeties.” Mukuba punctuated that portion of his resume with a game-winning interception against Arizona State in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. But versatility can be an empty buzzword. Yes, Mukuba played in different alignments at both Texas and Clemson. But to Kwiatkowski, “versatility” when directly applied to Mukuba means he’s attached to the affirmative when paired with any of the following questions: Can he play in zone coverage? Can he play in man coverage? Can he communicate? Can he blitz and beat blocks and tackle? Those specific affirmatives can support the creativity of NFL defensive coordinators such as Vic Fangio. Gideon remains convinced that the 5-foot-11, 186-pound Mukuba would’ve been a first-round selection if he’d been an inch taller and 14 pounds heavier. Kwiatkowski and Gideon have often compared Mukuba to another undersized safety Kwiatkowski coached at Washington: Budda Baker (5-10, 195), a two-time All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowler for the Arizona Cardinals, whom Gideon says also plays bigger than his size. “He plays a lot like Budda, like he throws his s— around,” Gideon said. “He’s a coach’s dream in that respect.

Eagles added a ‘quiet assassin’ who will ‘knock your chin strap off’ this offseason – NJ.com“He comes down hill every snap. If an opportunity gets presented, he will knock your chin strap off,” Blake said. “A lot of people try to say he’s small, he’s thin, but you can’t turn on the film and show me a game where he was at a disadvantage. And if you just break down his season at Texas, most of his interceptions came against their biggest opponents in the biggest moments. He has that ‘it’ factor to change a game when the game needs to be changed. But he’s like a quiet assassin about it all.” Pro Football Focus compared Mukuba to former Patriots All-Pro safety Devin McCourty in their scouting report, while other people see similarities between Mukuba and former Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Blake said Mukuba plays with former Indianapolis Colts safety Bob Sanders’ old-school physicality but has the range of former Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas and the instincts of former Detroit Lions and Seahawks safety Quandre Diggs.

Eagles’ versatile second-round draft pick Andrew Mukuba moves ‘like a missile’: Mike Mayock Q&A – InquirerI read a quote where he said [on The Rich Eisen Show of the Mukuba pick], “We weren’t trying to draft for need, but when need hits the value of the player, it’s a beautiful thing.” And I felt the same way. Mukuba, there was some mixed opinion on about where his value in the draft is, but what I saw on tape, he was three years at Clemson where he played a lot of nickel. No interceptions in three years at Clemson. [Actually, he had one interception there.] And then he goes in the portal and goes to Texas, they played him all over the place, he had five picks. Actually had six on tape — one of them didn’t count.So here’s what I would tell you about Mukuba: really aggressive, really tough, like a missile, tackles. Sometimes misses tackles because he’s overaggressive. I think he’s best instinctually with his eyes on the quarterback whether it’s at free safety, strong safety, or they played him a lot where they put him in a “robber” position underneath.

Projecting 2025 NFL rookie leaders in 10 stat categories – ESPNTackles: 1. Malaki Starks, S, Baltimore Ravens: 71. T-2. Nick Martin, LB, San Francisco 49ers: 58. T-2. Jahdae Barron, CB, Denver Broncos: 58. T-4. Andrew Mukuba, S, Philadelphia Eagles: 56. T-4. Jihaad Campbell, LB, Philadelphia Eagles: 56. […] An off-ball linebacker usually leads the rookie class in tackles, but Campbell was the only one selected in the first round. He has to battle Zack Baun — and Nakobe Dean, once he’s back from a knee injury — for snaps. Instead, Martin is our top projected tackler at the position, as the third-rounder should carve out a role next to Fred Warner in San Francisco. Second-rounder Demetrius Knight Jr. (Bengals) is a name to watch since he could have a bigger role if Germaine Pratt is traded. Barron, the No. 20 pick, will immediately battle Riley Moss to start opposite Pat Surtain II in Denver. In Philadelphia, second-rounder Mukuba has a real shot to replace C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who was traded to the Texans.

“Booked” is the compelling redemption story of a Philly area gambler – BGNSteve Maltepes, known as “The Philly Godfather,” lived an unfathomable life, which is now a compelling book about the son of a Greek immigrant who kept reinventing himself and developed into a national level gambling pundit. Maltepes’ book, entitled, ironically, “Booked,” was released a few weeks ago, tells his story and is among the top sellers of new releases on Amazon. Maltepes, a regular gambling contributor to Bleeding Green Nation during the NFL season, grew up an Eagles fan in the Delaware County suburb of Upper Darby and persevered over considerable obstacles—some of which were self-imposed. The book has some interesting gambling anecdotes that involve the Eagles and NFL gambling in general.

In Roob’s Observations: Why the coach of an Eagles rival should be considered a hero – NBCSP8. Milton Williams is a good, solid, productive interior lineman, and gave the Eagles four quality seasons. He’s a guy who’s always going to give everything he has and will never let anyone out-work him. But it’s going to be very tough for Williams to live up to that four-year, $104 million contract. Williams is now the 3rd-highest-paid interior lineman in the league, ahead of Dexter Lawrence, Vita Vea, Quinnen Williams and Jalen Carter (for now). As much as I appreciate what Williams gave the Eagles as a 2021 3rd-round pick, and he had a terrific postseason, he’s never made a Pro Bowl, he ranks 23rd among interior linemen with 11 sacks over the last four seasons, he’s only started 19 games, and his 41.6 percent snap count ranks 66th among defensive tackles since 2021. And he’s not an elite run defender. Pro Football Focus ranked him 77th against the run out of 79 interior linemen who played at least 200 run snaps last year. But he does give you very good pressure from the inside and had 10 quarterback hits, 5.0 sacks and seven tackles for loss in 2024. He will make the Patriots a better team. But when you get that kind of money, expectations change. Along with superstar money comes superstar expectations, and Williams isn’t a superstar. Now, he’s still only 26 and he is coming off his best season and big Super Bowl, so maybe he’ll continue trending upward. I’m certainly not knocking the player. Williams is really good, and good for him getting that kind of money. But people are going to expect more than the guy he’s been for four years for $26 million per year, and I’m just not sure if Williams can play up to that amount.

Eagles player review: LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr. edition – PhillyVoiceHe’ll be a core special teamer again in 2025, but he also has a chance to begin the season as a temporary starting off-ball linebacker opposing Zack Baun, with Dean very likely to begin the season on the PUP list, and rookie first-round selection Jihaad Campbell still recovering from shoulder surgery. I believe he has a certain base competency against the run and in zone coverage, and should be fine if Fangio calls on him to play a meaningful role, but I also believe that the defensive staff will be smart about what they ask him to do within the structure of the defense, given his athletic limitations.

Todd Bowles: Bucs didn’t sign Desmond Watson to defend the tush-push – PFTWe’ll stick with 437, for present purposes. Coupled with Vita Vea (who is officially 347 pounds — which perhaps could mean 437 or 473 or even 734), that gives the Bucs 784 pounds that can be positioned at the tip of the tush-push spear. Again, Watson first has to make the 53-man roster. If he does, it will make for an interesting moment when the Bucs host the Eagles, and when the Eagles are in a short-yardage or goal-line situation.

Update: The Washington Commanders agree to terms with fourth player from their 2025 draft class – Hogs HavenFormer Oregon OT Josh Conerly Jr has reportedly agreed to terms on a 4-year, $15,681,094 deal with the Washington Commanders. He was the 29th overall pick in this year’s draft and is expected to compete for the starting right tackle job during training camp with Laremy Tunsil taking over at LT. Second-round pick CB Trey Amos is the only draft pick to remain unsigned.

Why the table is set for KaVontae Turpin to have a breakout season on offense for the Cowboys – Blogging The BoysTurpin enters a new season with even more experience and a new coaching staff. Yeah, Brian Schottenheimer has been with this offense during his entire time in Dallas, but what will it mean for him with Schotty having greater influence on the play-calling? So much has been made about utilizing guys to their strengths, so will they put him in more favorable situations this upcoming season? With so much attention devoted to stopping Lamb and Pickens, there will be opportunities to find open space in the secondary, and Turpin is really fun when he gets in space. Imagine him getting loose with no help available over the top. We don’t know what this new Cowboys offense will look like this season. With so many different pieces, it will be interesting to see what the coaching staff comes up with. They have options, and Turpin is definitely one of those options. There are a lot of new changes that could line up nicely for him to have a breakout season on offense this year.

Did the Giants close the talent gap? Ranking NFC East offenses position-by-position – Big Blue ViewHere are the final results for the NFC East offense: 23 points — Eagles. 13 points — Giants. 12 points — Cowboys. 12 points — Commanders. The Eagles missed a clean sweep thanks to Jayden Daniels, and the NEW YORK GIANTS are second! What kind of homer stuff is this!? Trust me, the Giants have a lot of work to do to overcome the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Commanders on Sunday. For starters, defeating Dallas would be nice, and not being swept by the division would be just an EXCELLENT start. Still, for this silly exercise, the Giants roster — on paper — isn’t deep in the dumpster and is at least in the conversation to compete, offensively, with the other teams in the division.

Brock Purdy’s new contract includes rare clause only 7 other players have – SB NationHowever, where he was able to win back some leverage on his contract was with the inclusion of a full no-trade clause. Only seven other players in the NFL have a no trade clause in their contract, all QBs: Baltimore Ravens’ QB Lamar Jackson, Jacksonville Jaguars’ QB Trevor Lawrence, Philadelphia Eagles’ QB Jalen Hurts, Kansas City Chiefs’ QB Patrick Mahomes, Detroit Lions’ QB Jared Goff, Atlanta Falcons’ QB Kirk Cousins, and Buffalo Bills’ QB Josh Allen. Purdy now joins this exclusive group of players who can dictate their future regardless of what happens to the team around them.

Free-agent QB Aaron Rodgers provides hint for landing spot in 2025 – NFL.comAnd for what it’s worth, he shut down playing for the Saints when another fan asked, replying with a quick “no.” This marks the latest breadcrumb potentially leading to Pittsburgh as the QB ruminates on a 21st season. The clearest indication Rodgers might end up wearing black and gold took place on April 1, when president Art Rooney II said at the Annual League Meeting that “all signs are positive” he’s heading the Steelers’ way. Head coach Mike Tomlin has stated there’s no deadline, and pass rusher Alex Highsmith said on Thursday’s The Insiders that waiting on the 41-year-old’s decision isn’t a “distraction at all.” Time ticks on. Rodgers hinting at a union won’t get the Steelers any closer to a championship — only him officially signing would do that.