The perception surrounding the competition to replace playmaking safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson in the Philadelphia Eagles defensive backfield is not if, but when the 2025 second-round pick Drew Mukuba is deemed ready.
Only three practices, two voluntary OTAs and one mandatory minicamp session were open to reporters this spring. From that very limited view, third-year pro Sydney Brown is still first in line.
When the only constant on the back end – Reed Blankenship – missed the first open OTA session, Brown and Mukuba teamed together with the first team. When Blankenship was in the mix, Brown got the first cracks, and Mukuba mixed in.
It should also be noted that the other three safeties in the mix – Tristin McCollum, Andre Sam’ and Lewis Cine all were sprinkled in with the ones, albeit in a limited fashion.
In other words, this may be the most wide-open competition the Eagles have, and any perception that Brown is placeholding for Mukuba can be traced to the idea that the Texas product is Fangio’s guy.
“It's a competition that is going to take a training camp and a few preseason games to sort out,” Fangio said. “And Tristin’s in that, too.”
It is true that Fangio believes coverage first in a modern safety, and the Philadelphia personnel staff was enamored with Mukuba’s savvy and his comfort in space at Texas. Brown, meanwhile, is regarded as more of a box safety who excels closer to the line of scrimmage.
The idea that McCollum played ahead of Brown last season lacks the context of a difficult rehab from a torn ACL the Illinois product suffered in Week 18 of his rookie season.
“His experience came in 2023, not 2024,” Fangio said. “Last year at this time, [Brown] wasn't doing anything and didn't do anything really until the middle of October. So he lost all this time of year, training camp, early part of the season, and really never got many reps with us defensively.
“He did play in the last game against the Giants and did fine, but it's a new system from what he had in '23. So yes, he's sitting in meetings, but that only goes so far. You've got to get out there and experience it and build on it, and he lost that last year, so he's going through that process now and he's doing fine.”
Chemistry with Blankenship will also factor in.
“Two young guys battling,” Blankenship said of the competition. “Obviously you know who Sydney is as a person. He’s one of those, I say Crash Bandicoot at times, but no, he’s come along well. He’s communicating a lot more, he’s makng plays here and there, and that’s what you want to see. It’s his third year now and he’s making great improvement.
“I’m excited for him.”
As for Mukuba, the leader of the secondary pointed to some of the intangibles.
“He’s great,” Blankenship said. “I feel we bring a lot of guys in that have the same personality. Kind of want to be what allows that room to be open. He came in, he’s shown his personality, and that’s what you wanna see. You want to see a rookie comfortable. He’s asking questions, he’s talking. …he’s checking all the boxes.”
Despite any premature declarations by outsiders at safety for the Eagles, it’s probably a good idea to wait until all of those boxes are checked by Fangio and secondary coach Christian Parker to see who is really in front.
