2025 NFL draft: Birds select Texas safety Andrew Mukuba in second round, trade down and out of third round

The Eagles picked up right where they left off on Day 2 of the draft, reinforcing the defensive side of the ball by taking Texas safety Andrew Mukuba 64th overall on Friday night.

The 22-year-old was a four-year starter in college, beginning his career with the Clemson Tigers before transferring to the Longhorns for his senior season. He finished last year with five interceptions, 11 pass breakups, and 69 total tackles.

At 5-foot-11, 186 pounds, Mukuba’s build more closely resembles a nickel cornerback rather than an all-round safety, but he showed a willingness to come downhill and make plays against the run in college and plays with a noticeable edge. He ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine but did not do any other athletic tests by choice.

The Eagles moved down a few spots.

They traded pick No. 96 to Atlanta for pick No. 101. Atlanta sent them a 2026 fifth-round pick in exchange.

The Eagles will be on the clock in a few picks.

Texas A&M edge rusher Nic Scourton being drafted at pick No. 51 to the Carolina Panthers crossed another Eagles pre-draft visitor off the board.

So did the next pick, UCLA edge rusher Oluwafemi Oladejo. Two picks later, NC State offensive lineman Anthony Belton was crossed off.

The Eagles historically like taking players they've spent time with before drafts, though Jihaad Campbell broke that mold.

The run on Day 2 tight ends started early Friday with LSU star Mason Taylor going 42nd overall to the New York Jets. Oregon's Terrance Ferguson and Miami's Elijah Arroyo quickly followed.

Considering the Eagles entered the draft unresolved at the position with Dallas Goedert entering the final year of his contract and being dangled on the trade market, the team should be watching the remaining tight ends at the top of the board closely over the next 15-20 picks.

One player remaining that might make sense for the Eagles is Bowling Green's Harold Fannin Jr.

A new Eagles uniform is on the way in 2027.

The NFL and Nike announced a new "Rivalries" program Friday that will bring new jerseys to the league in 2025 for some and later for others.

Think Major League Baseball's City Connect concept that brought those not-so-aethetically-pleasing blue and gold Phillies uniforms to us, or the NBA's City Edition threads that put Boathouse Row on the Sixers' jersey,

Jihaad Campbell arrived at the Eagles’ practice facility Friday and was greeted by both linebackers coach Bobby King and then Jeremiah Washburn, who coaches the team’s edge rushers.

There’s a bit of mystery about where Campbell ends up playing right away and in the long-term future. Campbell was asked Friday during his introductory press conference at the team facility what he likes about each position.

“I like being a football player,” Campbell said. “I like being an absolute baller.”

It’ll be a fun story for days, maybe weeks or more: The Eagles draft a linebacker in the first round for the first time in 46 years.

There will be interviews with the last guy — Jerry Robinson. Think pieces on Howie Roseman’s evolution on the position. Deep dives into the longtime Eagles general manager’s recent willingness to spend on linebackers and how it was spurred by Vic Fangio’s defensive scheme and/or to counter offenses running the ball more.

And, in some way, those narratives will have merit. The Eagles did select a bona fide off-ball linebacker with the 31st overall pick: Alabama’s Jihaad Campbell. And he might very well end up playing that spot in the NFL for some of the reasons listed above.

Earlier this week, Timber Creek football coach Brian Wright raved about Jihaad Campbell, his former player who was drafted by the Eagles in the first round on Thursday night.

Wright took over the Timber Creek program in 2020, ahead of Campbell’s junior season. Campbell departed for IMG Academy for as a senior, but Wright has stayed in touch over the years and continued to support Campbell from afar.

This morning, in a series of text messages with The Inquirer, Wright wrote that Campbell returning home is “a beautiful thing.”

The Eagles have until next week, although they've already decided to not pick up WR Jahan Dotson's (no surprise).

The feeling here is that the final decision will say something about how Jordan Davis handled his training in the offseason. The Eagles likely wanted to see the necessary commitment from a player they still believe in — but has yet to deliver on investment partly because of conditioning, partly because pass rush projection might have been off — if they were to sign off on $13 million for 2026.

Could the second day of the draft factor into the Eagles' decision-making? Probably not, although a DT could be one of the picks in rounds 2 or 3. If Walter Nolen had slipped into range in the first round, that might have been a different story, even if they're very different interior linemen.

Here are a few players who could address some of the Eagles' needs that are available ahead of Day 2 of the NFL draft tonight.

All but one of the following players — LSU tight end Mason Taylor — reportedly met with the Eagles on pre-draft visits:

DL T.J. Sanders, South Carolina

Who says the Eagles don’t value linebackers?

In a year where they watched Zack Baun go from unheralded edge rusher into an All-Pro off-ball linebacker and rewarded him with a $51 million deal, the Eagles drafted Alabama linebacker and South Jersey native Jihaad Campbell 31st overall with the penultimate pick of the NFL draft’s first round Thursday night.

Campbell is the first off-ball linebacker the Eagles selected in the first round since Jerry Robinson in 1979. But Howie Roseman was quick to not put Campbell in a box when he met with reporters following the pick Thursday night.

Was Eagles general manager Howie Roseman happy about being able to take Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell at the bottom of the first round?

It certainly appeared so.

Just after making the pick Thursday night, ESPN cut to the Eagles' war room just in time to catch a fired-up Roseman bear hugging owner Jeff Lurie.

The second day of the 2023 NFL draft — which consists of rounds two and three — is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Eastern and run through 11:30 p.m.

While ABC and the NFL Network will continue to have coverage, ESPN won't air the NFL draft tonight due to NBA playoff basketball. Instead, ESPN's draft coverage moves to ESPN2 for the night.

Here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream: