Unsung Eagles defender gaining serious buzz ahead of massive season

The youth movement is on with the Philadelphia Eagles as they look to see who they had on their bench last year, ready to start in 2025.

One player with high expectations to step up is safety Sydney Brown, who is considered C.J. Gardner-Johnson's replacement after Gardner-Johnson was traded to the Houston Texans in the offseason. Brown isn't the only one being looked at for the job, as Tristin McCollum and second-round pick Andrew Mukuba will be in contention to start at safety.

Even with McCollum and Mukuba in the running, though, Brown appears to be one of the leaders in the race for the starting safety job alongside Reed Blankenship. Media outlets are looking for big things to come from Brown.

Eagles' Sydney Brown circled as breakout candidate in 2025

Pro Football Focus writer Jonathon Macri went through all 32 NFL teams to pick one breakout candidate in 2025 after the NFL Draft. Marci listed Brown for the Eagles as his experience in defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's defense should give him the edge in starting this season.

"Brown will have some competition for a starting role after the team drafted Andrew Mukuba in the third round of this year’s draft, but Brown – a 2023 third-round pick – has seniority and experience in the NFL and in Vic Fangio’s defense, which should give him the upper hand. Brown took on a starting role as a rookie before suffering an injury, which led to just one start in 2024, coming in Week 18 when he posted a 92.0 overall grade and 90.4 coverage grade."

Despite the low snap count, according to PFF, Brown had a 2024 overall grade of 89.9, which was ranked fourth out of 171 safeties in the NFL. His coverage grade helped spike him near the top, as he received an 84.6 grade in coverage, which was ranked sixth.

In two seasons, Brown has racked up 52 tackles, five pass deflections, two forced fumbles, two interceptions, and one pick-six. He made three tackles in the postseason last year to help the Eagles win their second Super Bowl in franchise history.

Brown's experience is a plus for this season, but Mukuba's potential could give him the edge after this season. McCollum hasn't played enough as he might be more of a candidate to be on the outside as a backup.

The pressure is on Brown to take advantage of the starting job if he wins and run with it.