Several young Philadelphia Eagles players entered the new league year with added opportunity, especially on defense.
The Eagles transitioned away from key Super Bowl champion contributors like Josh Sweat, Milton Williams, Darius Slay, C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Brandon Graham. During this year’s training camp, that swung the door wide open for recent draft picks like Kelee Ringo, Moro Ojomo and Sydney Brown to command true first-team roles for the first time in their respective careers.
Four games in, we’re starting to get some answers. Not all of them have been promising.
Ojomo is completely locked in, leading the Eagles’ defensive front with 15 quarterback pressures, per Pro Football Focus. His play has kept fourth-round rookie Ty Robinson almost completely off the field.
Ringo landed in defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s doghouse after logging some rough reps in the preseason. To his credit, he played well in spot-start duty for the injured Adoree’ Jackson in last week’s road win over Tampa Bay, and could see his role in the secondary finally start gaining some traction over the next month.
As for Brown? The hard-hitting, downhill safety is trending in the wrong direction for a player taken in the third round just three years ago.
Philadelphia Eagles safety Sydney Brown has played his way onto the 2025 trade block
Back in August, trade speculation surrounding Brown felt way too soon. Not only did Philly enter camp with thin depth behind returning starter Reed Blankenship, but Blankenship himself still doesn’t have a contract for 2026 and beyond.
It didn’t even take the first month of the 2025 regular season for second-round rookie Andrew Mukuba to win over Fangio as Philly’s deep safety. Mukuba was a surprising inclusion with the Week 1 starters and has out-snapped Brown in all four games.
Brown’s role on defense just about disappeared in the Buccaneers game; he played one snap to the rookie’s career-high 72, per PFF.
“Right now he’s playing full-time.”
— #Eagles DC Vic Fangio confirmed that Andrew Mukuba will play all snaps at safety ahead of Sydney Brown, who had been playing in base personnel.
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) September 30, 2025
At this point, it’s fair to seriously question Brown’s fit in Fangio’s defense. His aggressive play style has often led to missteps or injuries, and his special teams contributions have even taken a dip to start the year; he continues to fill a full-time role in that area, but PFF has charted team highs for Brown in missed tackles (three) and penalties (two) over 86 total snaps.
Read more:3 surprising Eagles contributors through the first month of 2025
Brown is still a young player at just 25 years old. General manager Howie Roseman has already leveraged multiple trades over the course of the season, and it will be interesting to see if the team opts to move on early at this year’s deadline in favor of adding a veteran — like former All-Pro (and Fangio guy) Justin Simmons.