Eagles Replacing Fan-Favorite With 'Terrific' Talent

The Philadelphia Eagles had yet another great draft on paper and even seemingly replaced a fan-favorite.

Philadelphia traded CJ Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans and went out and drafted Texas safety Andrew Mukuba out of Texas. It was a great move and Pro Football Focus had nothing but praise for him and even said he has "terrific ball skills."

"No. 2 (64): S Andrew Mukuba, Texas," PFF said. "Mukuba — The Eagles find their replacement for C.J. Gardner-Johnson in the athletic Andrew Mukuba. The Texas product showed great progress in his college career, culminating in a 90.0 overall grade in 2024, with an excellent grade in coverage (89.7). He forced an incompletion on 26.1 percent of his targets, an incredibly high rate. Mukuba showed terrific ball skills, intercepting five passes and allowing a paltry 12.1 passer rating last season."

The Eagles had questions at safety going into the 2024 season but Gardner-Johnson helped to quiet the noise. He had a great season and racked up six interceptions. But, the Eagles opted to go in a different direction in part to save some cash to spend elsewhere.

Mukuba is a guy who could step in on day No. 1 and make a big impact. It's too early to compare him to Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, but they were people taken last year to boost the secondary. Now, Mukuba will try to help out as well. If all works out, the Eagles will be pretty set for years to come.