Eagles second-round pick Andrew Mukuba has a Clemson connection with LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr.

The Eagles may have found their C.J. Gardner-Johnson replacement.

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

The 22-year-old, who said Saturday he prefers to go by “Drew,” was a four-year starter in college. He started his career with Clemson before transferring to the Longhorns for his senior season and finished last year with five interceptions, 11 pass breakups, and 69 total tackles. Over his career, he tallied six picks and 28 pass breakups with 43 total starts.

At 5-foot-11, 186 pounds, Mukuba’s build more closely resembles a nickel cornerback rather than an all-around safety, but his aggressive, physical playing style and ball production in college suggest he could replace some of what the Eagles lost by trading Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans last month.

At the conclusion of the draft’s second night, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman and coach Nick Sirianni both said Mukuba’s on-field intensity made him an ideal fit among a crowded group of talented Day 2 safety prospects.

“This guy can run and hit,” Sirianni said. “He has a knack to take the football away. … It just oozes off the tape how physical he plays and how tough he plays. He plays with relentless effort and throws his body around and I love that about him.”

Roseman added, “He plays with mentality. This guy, he plays an Eagles brand of football. I think for us, the value fit the need right there.”

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The Eagles made Mukuba the third safety drafted behind first-rounder Malaki Starks and early second-rounder Nick Emmanwori. A handful of safeties went shortly after Mukuba, including Penn State’s Kevin Winston Jr., Tulane’s Caleb Ransaw, Virginia’s Jonas Sanker, and Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts.

As Roseman alluded to Friday night, Mukuba should get a chance to earn the starting safety spot vacated by Gardner-Johnson this summer. After dealing the 27-year-old in exchange for reserve offensive lineman Kenyon Green and a pick swap in 2026, the team entered the draft with third-year defensive back Sydney Brown as the leading candidate to occupy the spot opposite Reed Blankenship in the defensive backfield without much competition.

Mukuba should provide exactly that after excelling in a Longhorns system that often deployed him in zone coverages as a post safety. According to Pro Football Focus, he lined up as a deep safety on 71% of his snaps last season and was one of the most effective coverage safeties in college football. He allowed just 10 catches on 23 targets for 7.4 yards per reception.

“It’s really hard to find cover safeties and guys who have the ability to come down and play over the slot,” Roseman said. “[He can] play in the middle of the field, have natural instincts and play the ball. … He’s got ball skills.

“We felt like, throughout this process, this guy did everything and checked all the boxes. And that was really what we’re looking for from that position.”

In order to win the job, Mukuba will have to prove his smaller frame won’t hold him back against bigger, stronger players. Roseman downplayed those concerns on Friday and Mukuba noted that his physical style of play hasn’t been hampered by his size in the past.

“Size, that never really bothered me, to be honest,” Mukuba said. “I feel like, no matter how much I weigh or how tall I am or how big I am, I can still go out there and play the game at a physical level with a lot of physicality. That’s never really bothered me. I feel like, despite everything, I still go out there and compete and go out there and play hard, and be as physical as anybody else.”

Mukuba also said Saturday he tends to study similarly sized players at his position like the Arizona Cardinals’ Budda Baker and the Detroit Lions’ Brian Branch.

“I like to watch guys typically that have my body type and body frame,” Mukuba said. “I can’t really do as much as a guy who is 6-3. I like to watch guys that are my height and my size that kind of move the same to just kind of see what they do and add it to my game.”

Mukuba started 31 games for Clemson over three seasons before transferring to Texas. During his time at Clemson, Mukuba said he spent one year with Eagles linebacker and former Tiger Jeremiah Trotter Jr. as his roommate.

“Everything is coming full circle, coming back now and being on the same defense with Trotter and the same team as [Eagles running back and Clemson alum] Will Shipley,” Mukuba said. “It’s amazing having people that I already know here.”

Mukuba ended up being the Eagles’ lone addition on the second night of the draft. In the lead-up to the selection at No. 96 overall, Roseman traded back and then out of the third round with subsequent trades. The first swap netted the team a 2026 fifth-round pick from the Atlanta Falcons in exchange for moving back five spots so the Falcons could select Watts.

A few selections later, Roseman dealt the 101st pick and the 134th pick to the Denver Broncos in exchange for picks No. 111, No. 130, and No. 191 on Day 3.

Mukuba will join a young secondary that already features the newly formed cornerback duo of Quinyon Mitchell outside and Cooper DeJean in the slot. By selecting both Mukuba and Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell in the first two rounds of the draft, this offseason marks the third straight time the Eagles have used their first two draft picks on defensive players.