It's safe to assume that when Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio discusses his rookie second-round pick Andrew Mukuba's performance in the team's 20-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, he's going to find things that Mukuba needs to improve upon. Eagles fans aren't worried about that, as he put up an excellent performance.
There were multiple plays that Mukuba made that had Eagles fans going crazy. In the first half. He had a great tackle for loss on Isiah Pacheco and co-sacked Patrick Mahomes with Za'Darius Smith.
The best play of the game that turned the whole momentum of the game was Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce dropping a pass at the goal line that went into Mukuba's hands for his first career interception. Mukuba returned the ball 41 yards before being tackled.
When all was said and done, Mukuba finished the game with six tackles, one quarterback hit, one tackle for loss, one pass deflection, one interception, and a half sack in the win. Pretty good stats for a guy who just played his second career game in the NFL.
Mukuba is starting to look like a superstar in the making on the Eagles' defense
First of all, Fangio is never going to truly give Mukuba his credit to push him to be better, but his development of the rookie has been special to see. Fangio had the tough task of replacing C.J. Gardner-Johnson in the offseason and he found someone who could be that guy.
Mukuba is a play maker. He has a nose for the football that was seen in college at Texas as well. Not to mention his physicality and how he has the ability to lay a big hit on anyone is a massive plus.
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It was a treat to see Mukuba show improvement after Fangio laid into him with the press on "multiple broken coverages." The rookie isn't perfect, but he is certainly putting his name in the conversation for Defensive Rookie of the Year. An award that has never been won by an Eagle.