After summer of competition, is Eagles rookie Drew Mukuba ready to start?
After summer of competition, is Eagles rookie Drew Mukuba ready to start? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
It might be Thursday. If not, it might be Week 2 in Kansas City or Week 3 vs. the Rams.
It's going to happen. It's just a matter of when.
The Eagles didn't draft Andrew Mukuba in the second round to ride the bench, and a couple injury spells during training camp might have delayed his ascension into the Eagles' starting lineup but it's going to happen sooner or later.
I feel ready," Mukuba said after practice on Sunday. I've been preparing just like everybody else. I've been putting in extra hours, extra time, just like everybody else, and that's just for me to be ready and be confident whenever it is my time to play."
Mukuba split 1st-team reps with Sydney Brown most of the summer, but on Aug. 18 he got every rep, a strong sign that defensive coordinator Vic Fangio had picked him to start theopener.
A day later, he suffered a hamstring injury and didn't return to practice until Sunday.
Getting all the 1st-team reps doesn't guarantee you're going to be the starter, but it's a pretty good sign. How much the injury and missed time will factor into Fangio's decision whether to start Mukuba or Brown against the Cowboys Thursday night remains to be seen.
It's unfortunate to miss time or have to deal with something that's keeping you off the field, but that's football, it's going to happen and you can't let that set you back," Mukuba said. I feel like those reps I missed count. I can try to make them up as much as possible through mental reps, but truth be told, it is different between mental reps and actually getting physical reps.
I wouldn't say it set me back, but I wasn't able to really pick up the speed. But once I got back, I felt like I picked up where I left off."
The last Eagles rookie safety to start was Brown, who started six games in 2023.But the last who was a full-time starter was Nate Allen in 2010. And before that Brian Dawkins in 1996 and Wes Hopkins in 1983.
It doesn't happen very often, but we all saw in the Browns preseason game - the only one he played in - what Mukuba is capable of. He had that 75-yard interception touchdown return and also recovered a fumble to set up a Kyle McCord touchdown pass to Ainias Smith.
From the time I got here to the time now, I feel like my knowledge of the game and just how I approach the game has grown tremendously," he said. Not even just on the football side, but also off the field as far as finding my routine, just being a pro. I feel like I've grown a lot in all those areas, and I'm going to just keep growing."
If Mukuba carries himself more like a veteran than a 22-year-old rookie, there's a reason for it. It's because he's smart enough to surround himself with guys who know their way around the NFL more than he does.
And pay attention to everything they do.
I ask the older guys who've been in the league for a while, kind of see what they do, how they do things," he said. Guys like Reed (Blankenship), Adoree' Jackson, guys on offense like Saquon. Like, what do they do day-to-day.
Those guys played for a while, and that's one of my ultimate goals, play for a while, so just kind of getting tips from them and then obviously coming up with my own routine.
I don't really have a set routine yet. I mean, I've only played in one preseason game. I haven't played in a regular season game yet. But you're trying to tweak things to see what's working for me and see what's not working for me and then just go from there and just grow as I go along."
So who starts Thursday night? Brown has the edge in experience and has had a solid preseason. Mukuba is the future and pronounced himself healthy on Sunday.
If I start, if I don't start, whenever I get out there, I'll definitely be the best version of myself," he said.
I put in the time, the extra time to be able to be confident and feel like I'm prepared to go out there and just do something I've been doing for a while, which is play football."