Andrew Mukuba’s promising rookie season was cut short by injury. His resurgence is key to the success of the Eagles safeties.
Mukuba says he's ready to move on from the fractured fibula that cost him seven games a year ago.
To Andrew Mukuba, there is no sense dwelling on the past.
The fractured fibula that ruined his rookie season with the Eagles in a Week 12 loss in Dallas, the demanding rehabilitation that followed, the emotional ups and downs that come with all of it, that’s all behind him, he says.
When he hits the football field next to play a game, which could be as soon as the preseason opener Saturday night in Baltimore, he won’t be seeking any closure.
“I feel comfortable out here despite what I had going on,” Mukuba said after practice Thursday. “I’ve already put everything behind, just focused on what’s next and what’s in front of me.”
There still is a lot in front of the 23-year-old. The Eagles are putting a lot of trust in their second-round pick from last year’s draft. They lost Reed Blankenship in free agency and did not make major upgrades to the position group in part because they feel like Mukuba is capable of being an every-down difference maker. There were “shaky” moments during his rookie season, Vic Fangio said in the spring, but the longtime defensive coordinator felt like Mukuba was “coming on” in the five or six games leading up to his injury.
What’s the biggest difference year-over-year?
“It’s just experience, knowledge, and know-how of the defense,” Fangio said last week. “You might look and say, ‘Man, he looks quicker. He’s in better shape.’ I think it’s just the thought process [speeding] up, comfortability with the defense, and what he has to do. He’s in a little bit better shape too.”
That part always helps, especially in the steamy conditions training camp practices come with. But Mukuba agreed that the biggest difference between this version of him and the rookie version this time last year was on the mental side of the game. His offseason was dominated by rehab. He wasn’t fully cleared for workouts during the offseason program, and a lot of his time away from the field was spent watching film and diving into the playbook.
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“In that situation, you can’t do anything but try to learn,” he said.
He said he sees the preparation paying off in his ability to recognize plays — “letting the formation talk to you,” he said — and pick up on cues from the running backs and offensive linemen.
“Little things I feel like rookies might struggle with coming in and having a lot thrown at you,” Mukuba said.
The safety position is an interesting one during this Eagles camp. Mukuba is the lone constant, but he has different players next to him at times. When the Eagles are in their base defense, with just two cornerbacks on the field, Cooper DeJean has been sliding from the nickel spot to safety next to Mukuba. When they’re not in base, which is the majority of the time, Marcus Epps has seen a lot of first-team work, as has Michael Carter II, who, like DeJean, is making a transition from nickel to safety.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Eagles search for an upgrade to pair next to Mukuba before the season begins, but Fangio has expressed comfort in Epps and Carter.
Mukuba said earlier this month that DeJean, a “natural defensive back,” was picking up his new occasional position well, but there are challenges.
“You think differently, you play differently with the runs because you’re closer to the ball,” Mukuba said of a nickel. “Obviously with safety you’re further away from the ball. Finding right angles and trying to play in space is a little different than when you’re closer to the ball.”
Mukuba, who had 46 tackles in 11 games last season, will have some new duties thrown his way. Blankenship, who left for Houston in free agency, was the defensive quarterback who did a lot of communicating from the back. The safeties will share those responsibilities, Fangio said.
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Mukuba said his next steps for year two are to continue getting more comfortable in the NFL and keep growing in his role.
“Trying to see how much I’ve grown from last year, trying to remove the mental errors or the little things that I was struggling with last year,” he said. “A lot of things I struggled with last year, I feel like this year I’ve overcome and I’m playing more confident and faster.
“I feel good. I worked hard to get to this point.”
