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A Solid Presence in the Defensive Secondary. – Philadelphia Sports Nation

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Photo Courtesy of Wiki Commons.

Sydney Brown Was A Favorite to Win a Starting Position. Mukuba Has No Plans to Make it That Easy.

The history of football is rich with great safety play. The history of the Philadelphia Eagles — is rich with some of the finest and toughest safeties to ever play the game. The devastating and punishing play of Andre Waters. The leadership and lock-down coverage of Malcolm Jenkins. The bone-crushing, adrenaline filled style of Brian Dawkins. The decade of solid play from Randy Logan in the late 1970s. The “blade” signature of Don Burroughs in 1960 and the consistent contributions of Russ Craft during the 1940s — both of the latter helping to bring championships to Philadelphia.

But one thing that the NFL Preseason has taught us is that nothing is for certain. The Eagles are high on the prospect of Sydney Brown opposite Reed Blankenship at the Safety position. But the push that Texas rookie Andrew Mukuba is making is truly hard not to notice. Being sick on the field couldn’t stop this rookie from making a definite impact in the Eagles second NFL pre-season game against the Browns. In the 2nd quarter — Mukuba intercepted a Dillon Gabriel pass and brought it back seventy-five yards for a score — and in the same quarter in which he recovered a fumble as well.

Mukuba — who was the last rookie to sign a four-year worth $7,160,538 including $4,196,063 guaranteed money. The prospect of starting Mukuba is that his combination with Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell would make the Eagles defensive backfield one of the youngest starting in the NFL.

He joins an Eagles secondary that were the only team in NFL history to start two rookie defensive backs in the Conference Championship Game and subsequently — the Super Bowl. It’s also the first time in franchise history that the Eagles have two rookie defensive backs nominated for the prestigious Rookie of the Year Award — presented by the Associated Press.

The combination of the second round pick out of Texas in Mukuba, DeJean, and Mitchell could solidify the Eagles secondary for years to come. 

The Eagles are counting on it.

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Michael Thomas Leibrandt

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