There were some ups and downs during the first half of the regular season for Philadelphia Eagles rookie safety Andrew Mukuba, but as his defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio, might say, "school is out."
Fangio was asked by the media during his press conference about the progress of Mukuba's play in 2025, after the coach criticized the rookie at the beginning of the year for poor coverage. While Fangio did compliment Mukuba for improving, he did add something that it's time to move on from with the first-year safety.
“That's a part of us playing better, too. Early in the year, he had some bad plays that led to big plays for the opponent, and we haven't had that lately.
I think I told you guys a story, [former NFL Head Coach] Bud Grant always used to say, ‘For every rookie you play, add a loss to your loss column.’ I heard another guy say, ‘You’ve got to pay taxes on when you play rookies.’ But now it's game eleven coming up, he's not a rookie anymore.”
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio says safety Drew Mukuba really isn’t a rookie anymore and is playing better
“That's a part of us playing better, too. Early in the year, he had some bad plays that led to big plays for the opponent, and we haven't had that lately.
I… pic.twitter.com/2JjpkR0TGL
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) November 18, 2025
Mukuba is now a veteran in the eyes of Fangio, and that's okay for Eagles fans
There were many incidents in which Mukuba struggled with his coverage skills. In games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the first New York Giants games, Mukuba either got burned on pass plays or did not make the tackle when needed.
Things have gotten better for Mukuba over the last few weeks, as he has been laying some big hits on offensive players and playing tighter coverage. It has been shown in the numbers for the safety during the season.
In his first 10 games of his career, Mukuba has racked up 43 tackles, three pass deflections, two interceptions, two tackles for loss, one quarterback hit, and a half sack. Pro Football Focus has him graded out to a 57.5, ranking 65th out of 93 safeties in the NFL.
Mukuba has been part of a 2025 draft class for the Eagles that has done pretty well with him and first-round pick linebacker Jihaad Campbell looking like the future of the defense. Both have improved each week and look like they could be starters in the NFL for a long time.
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A ton of credit has to be given to Fangio for developing these guys the right way, to the point that it is fair to say they are no longer rookies. Mukuba and Campbell have played enough games to be veterans in the NFL.