When the Eagles took Andrew Mukuba with the 64th overall pick in April, they broke a long streak of practically ignoring the position early in the draft. They hadn't used a second-round pick on a safety since taking Nate Allen 37th overall in 2010 – 15 years earlier.
And as most Eagles fans know, the organization has never in the Super Bowl era used a first-round pick on a safety.
Like every other Eagles safety drafted in the past 20 years, Allen didn't stick around long enough to see a long-term extension – he signed a one-year deal after his rookie deal expired – and never really fulfilled the potential that accompanied being the team's first second-round safety since Brian Dawkins in 1996.
And like every safety the Eagles have drafted since they let Dawkins walk out the door after 2008, (one of the most controversial decisions in team history) Allen and the others could never come close to playing at the level Dawkins did for 13 seasons in Philadelphia en route to a Hall of Fame career.
The past 20 years of Eagles drafted safeties is an eyesore list filled with busts, misfires, and at best, some mediocre selections who semi-outperformed their low draft stock. Some didn't see the end of their rookie deal. Some didn't even see Year 2. And, yes, there are even some who didn't make the team as a rookie.
The common bond among all is that none signed a second contract that was beyond a one-year deal.
So while Mukuba has broken one streak just by being drafted in the second round, another longer and more significant streak remains to be broken. Can the Texas product play well enough over the next three or four seasons to earn the elusive long-term extension that those who came before him over the past 20 years could not?
For those who need a reminder, here's the history Mukuba is battling – a year-by-year look at Eagles drafted safeties since 2005 and how they fared:
2005
Sean Considine, Iowa, Round 4 (102)
The undersized Iowa product ended up playing eight seasons in the NFL but just four with the Eagles, and he only started 17 games over a two-year span. He wasn’t terrible, but nine of those starts came in 2006 because of an injury to Michael Lewis. He lost his starting job halfway through 2007 to Quintin Mikell, although no shame in that because Mikell turned into a very good safety who made the All-Pro second team. Considine played for four different teams from 2009-2012, starting just 11 games.Verdict: Not a terrible miss, but not a hit.
2007
C.J. Gaddis, Clemson, Round 5 (159)
The hype train started quick for the Clemson product (like Dawkins!) who clocked a 4.43 at his Pro Day and tricked folks into thinking he might be “the next Brian Dawkins.” Gaddis, who left Clemson early, wasn’t anywhere close to Dawkins, or even a serviceable NFL player. He didn’t even make the team, which really says something because teams don’t like to cut mid-round rookies. He was then signed by the Falcons but never played for them.Verdict: Egregiously bad miss.
2008
Quintin Demps, UTEP, Round 4 (117)
For a minute, it looked like Demps was on his way to being a productive Eagles safety. It helped that he came out of UTEP with some serious ballhawk skills – 17 career INTs, two of which were returned 100 yards – and 4.3 speed. He entered his rookie season as the top kick returner, averaged more than 25 yards per return as a rookie and brought another back 100 yards against the Ravens. But injuries limited him to just nine games in 2009, and although he did get his first INT that season – off Eli Manning – Demps never really showed that playmaking talent from college and didn’t stick around for a third season. He did, however, play seven more seasons with four different teams and started 31 games between 2013-2016, so maybe the Eagles should’ve held onto the late bloomer.
Verdict: Ended up having a decent career but the Eagles didn't have patience, so it's miss on both draft and development.
2009
Victor Harris, Virginia Tech, Round 5 (157)
Funny story about this guy. His nickname was “Macho,” but special teams coordinator Ted Daisher said he wouldn’t call him “Macho” until he earned it. Well, Harris ended up starting eight games as a rookie in place of an injured Sean Jones but didn’t do much to impress his coaches and didn’t see a second season with the Eagles. Harris had been a playmaking corner at Virginia Tech but was moved to safety when the Eagles drafted him. The Birds moved him back to corner in 2010 but returned him to safety before waiving him before the season. He tried to hang on with Washington but was out of the NFL by 2011 and spent the next few seasons playing in Canada.Verdict: You're hoping a fifth-round pick develops into at least a backup/special teamer, and Harris didn't. Miss.
2010
Nate Allen, South Florida, Round 2 (37)
Oh, what could have been. Allen was drafted with the pick the Eagles in exchange the landmark Donovan McNabb trade, and early on looked like a major hit. His three INTs as a rookie tied with teammate Quintin Mikell for the most by an Eagles safety since Brian Dawkins’ four in 2006 and tied for most by an Eagles rookie safety (with Dawkins) since 1979. He also had two sacks, becoming the first Eagles rookie safety in team history with three picks and two sacks – not to mention his eight PBUs and three TFLs. But a torn patellar tendon in December ended his rookie season.
He was OK in 2012, the first year of DL coach Jim Washburn’s “wide-9” system that made life miserable for DBs, and was steady for the next two seasons. His pedestrian career was exemplified by the one-year contract he signed with the Eagles in 2014 after testing free agency. Allen then signed a two-year deal with the Raiders in 2015 but got hurt after five games, was released after season, and re-signed with Oakland for less. A bad pick by the Birds? Not at all, but much more was expected after his rookie season.Verdict: Not terrible, but the 37th overall pick needs to sign more than a 1-year extension to be considered a hit, so it's an overall miss.
Kurt Coleman, Ohio State Round 7 (244)
As Eagles drafted safeties go, Coleman is one of the team’s best success stories – sort of. From a four-year span between 2009-2013, Coleman’s 29 starts at safety are second only to Nate Allen’s. But the Eagles weren’t very good during his tenure – one of the reasons he started so many games – and didn’t win a single playoff game in his time with them. He eventually joined Andy Reid in Kansas City in 2014 and rejoined Sean McDermott with the Panthers in 2015, making the Pro Bowl that season as Carolina went to the Super Bowl. He finished with 83 career starts. Definitely one of the better safeties drafted by the Eagles, but played his best ball elsewhere.Verdict: Based on his draft status, it was a good pick, but the Eagles needed more at the position overall.
2011
Jaiquawn Jarrett, Temple, Round 2 (54)
Hoo boy, did the Eagles regret this one, like almost immediately. First off, it was viewed as a major reach when they used a high second-rounder on the Temple product who was more known as a hard-hitter with limited coverage acumen at a time when the NFL was trending toward advanced passing attacks and away from the box safety.
That transformation alone set up Jarrett for failure, and fail he did. Despite being the 54th overall pick – ahead of guys like Rodney Hudson, Torrey Smith, Justin Houston, and DeMarco Murray – Jarrett was inactive for four of his first five games as a rookie. He couldn’t beat out Colt Anderson or Jarrad Page to start opposite Nate Allen. He made just two starts as a rookie – in a Week 10 loss to Arizona and a meaningless season finale win over Washington that got the Eagles to 8-8 in a year of Super Bowl expectations. Jarrett played just one game in his second season and couldn’t stick around to see a third. He latched on with the Jets, starting seven of his 34 games with them, before exiting the league. Last I saw him two years ago, he was the Player Affairs Manager for the Panthers.Verdict: Bad, bad, bad miss. Put this one on the organization more than the player.
2013
Earl Wolff, N.C. State, Round 5 (136)
This pick appeared to have some potential, as Wolff showed promise his rookie season, starting six of the 11 games he played in and getting an interception. He was a hard-working kid who knew about Brian Dawkins' legacy when the Eagles drafted him and gave the franchise some hope after his rookie year but … Wolff hurt his knee in a Week 10 game against the Packers, and it bothered him enough to miss five of the last six games.
The next season, he lost out to Nate Allen in training camp for a starting job and played sparingly in seven of the first eight games before missing Week 10 and Week 11 and ultimately underwent knee surgery. He never again played for the Eagles. Despite signing with three other teams, Wolff never played another NFL down. It’s hard to say if Wolff was just a flash in the pan or if the knee injury derailed a promising career. The fact that he never played again, with any other team, makes me think he caught lightning in a bottle.Verdict:Getting just two seasons and 18 total games from a fifth-round pick is a miss, plain and simple.
Jordan Poyer, Oregon State, Round 7 (218)
The Eagles finally drafted a safety who’d make a Pro Bowl! Just not for them... sigh. Poyer was part of the same draft in Chip Kelly's first season that landed Lane Johnson and Zach Ertz with the Eagles. He competed for a backup cornerback job against guys like Curtis Marsh, Trevard Lindley and Brandon Hughes while the starters – Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher (sorry for the cringe, folks) – were already locked. Poyer made the initial 53 and played mostly on special teams, active in three of the Eagles’ first six games before sinking down the depth chart to the point where was inactive and waived in mid-October.
Long story short: Poyer immediately latched on with the Browns, was moved to safety from the get-go, stayed there until the end of 2016 before signing a deal with the Bills, where he became an immediate starter. He started 107 games from 2017-2023 for Buffalo and was an All Pro in 2021 and made a Pro Bowl in 2022. He’s had 90 or more tackles seven times, including 98 last year with Miami. Kelly’s lack of patience and foresight cost the Eagles an opportunity to employ a long-term safety.Verdict: More of an organizational development miss than talent miss but a miss for the Eagles nonetheless. Hit for the Bills.
2014
Jaylen Watkins, Florida, Round 4 (101)
This one isn’t a miss but also it’s not necessarily a hit at safety either, as the former Florida standout bounced back and forth between corner and safety in his four seasons, and started just five of 53 games. He was actually waived on cutdown day going into his second season, signed immediately to the Bills’ practice squad and united with his brother Sammy in Buffalo, but was re-signed by the Eagles off Buffalo’s practice squad in November and spent 2016 and 2017 with the Eagles. He made a career-high four starts in 2016 – playing a career high 38 percent of the snaps that year – but played just 168 total snaps in 2017 as the Eagles won the Super Bowl. He played just three snaps on defense against the Patriots in Super Bowl LII compared to 17 on special teams. He signed with the Chargers in the offseason, tore his ACL, and played just 17 games (four starts at safety) from 2019-2020 and has since been out of the league. But, hey, he’s got a ring.Verdict: Not a miss, but also, not really a safety. So the search continued...
Ed Reynolds, Stanford, Round 5 (162)
Chip Kelly loved his West Coast prospects and seemed high on Reynolds, a Stanford product picked on Day 3. But Reynolds, known as a hard hitter who won the Jack Tatum award in college, never came close to panning out and didn’t even make the 53-man roster as a rookie. He signed to the practice squad and tried to make the 53 the next summer, but failed again and re-signed to the practice squad again. Reynolds finally found his way onto the 53 in November of 2015 – even got an interception vs. Buffalo – but failed to make the team in 2016 and signed with the Browns’ practice squad. He eventually got signed to the 53 in Cleveland and started seven of his 10 games in 2016 but the following August was waived/injured by the Browns and never again played in the NFL.Verdict: As mentioned, fifth-round hits need to at least be role players and/or core special-teamers, and Reynolds was neither.
2016
Jalen Mills, LSU, Round 7 (233)
Do we really consider him a safety? Mills was a terrific story as a corner, which is where the Eagles played him from 2016-2020 after picking him in the seventh round out of LSU. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz preferred tall, long corners and Mills’ 6-foot, 200-pound frame fit the bill. Mills started 15 games for the 2017 Super Bowl champs and gave the fan base this famous PBU in the NFC Championship game vs. Atlanta:
But Mills started just 17 games from 2018-2019 and finally moved to safety in 2020 after the team didn’t exercise its option on Malcolm Jenkins. Mills started 15 games in 2020, an atrocious overall season for the Eagles that ended with Doug Pederson getting fired, and moved onto New England, where he moved back to corner. He played three seasons with the Patriots and another with the Jets, playing both corner and safety or nickel. If this were a list of Eagles cornerback draft picks of the last 20 years, he’d be more relevant to the discussion.
Verdict: Not a safety outside of one abysmal season, so not a safety hit.
Top 5 Drafted Eagles safeties careers since 2005
Nate Allen: 83 starts, 10 INTs in 5 seasons
Kurt Coleman: 29 starts, 7 INT, 2 FF, 4 seasons
Sean Considine: 17 starts, 2 INT, 1 FF, 4 seasons
Quintin Demps: 25+ yards per KR, 1 KR TD, 1 INT, 2 seasons
Earl Wolff: 7 starts, 18 games, 1 INT in 2 seasons
2020
K’Von Wallace, Clemson, Round 4 (127)
It’s almost as if the Eagles just stopped trying for a while, as four years passed before the Mills selection and Wallace. But same results. Wallace’s bark was worse than his bite. More known for trash-talking with Patriots QB Cam Newton during a joint practice, which led to Newton calling Wallace a glorified cheerleader, Wallace spent just three seasons with Eagles and made just seven starts. No INTs, no sacks, no FFs, and just two passes defended and one tackle for a loss. You’d expect more from a Clemson DB. He followed Jonathan Gannon to Arizona but was waived by the Cards after just seven games and then was claimed by the Titans for the rest of the year. He spent last season as a backup for the Seahawks.Verdict: He was a special teamer and backup as a fourth-rounder, so that's good, but he didn't even see his fourth season, so he can't be a true hit. Somewhere in between.
2021
JaCoby Stevens. LSU, Round 6 (224)
Stevens was converted into a linebacker immediately after the Eagles threw a dart at him on Day 3, thinking his speed and lateral movement would better cater to the weak-side position. He played one game as a rookie – a meaningless season finale against the Cowboys, who scored 51 points in the game – and that was all for his NFL career. By 2023, he was back at LSU as a coach.Verdict: Never was a safety, so doesn't count.
2023
Sydney Brown, Illinois, Round 3 (66)
Let’s not consider Brown another failed high pick just yet. He has time to show that he was worthy of a third-rounder, but not that much time as he enters a critical third season already behind Reed Blankenship – and possibly Drew Mukuba and Tristin McCollum – on the depth chart. Brown needs to earn the approval of DC Vic Fangio.
Verdict: Jury's out, but doesn't look encouraging.
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