Eagles rookie made big statement against Browns: Could he run away with starting job?

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The city of PhiladelphiaFollowing Browns wide receiver Diontae Johnson to the sideline in the second quarter of the Eagles’ 22–13 preseason loss to the Cleveland Browns on Saturday, rookie safety Drew Mukuba abandoned his assignment to jump Dillon Gabriel’s pass to tight end Blake Whitehart, intercept it, and return it for a 75-yard touchdown.

Mukuba dived to the ground to recover Gabriel’s fumble on a botched hand off two possessions after his pick-6.

Mukuba’s strong preseason debut may help him overtake Sydney Brown for the starting position. He demonstrated to Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio that he could be a back-end playmaker for Philadelphia.

Philadelphia’s choice to deal safety in the offseasonThe decision to hire C.J. Gardner-Johnson was hazardous. In his two seasons (2022 and 2024) with the Eagles, he accumulated six interceptions, making him one of the NFL’s top defensive playmakers.

Fangio may think that Mukuba is the best candidate to take Gardner-Johnson’s production’s spot. Last season, the rookie showed that he had good instincts by recording five interceptions for Texas.

To gain Fangio’s complete faith, Mukuba must, however, increase the consistency of his covering during the upcoming week. He has surrendered big catches in practice and gave up an 18-yard catch to Cedric Tillman, a wide receiver for the Browns.

To keep ahead of Mukuba, Brown needs to make more plays. Mukuba may now have the advantage because the Eagles selected him in the second round to be their starter.

The competition at cornerback is even more interesting.

Adoree Jackson and Kelee Ringo began on the border. Bennett, a recently acquired CB, cycled in.

Although a winner won’t be announced until today, Bennett might soon emerge as the front-runner. He intercepted Gabriel’s throw to George Larvadain, an undrafted free agent for the Browns. Bennett successfully extended his hand to knock the rookie wide receiver off balance as he ran a crosser and got leverage.

Johnson made a short catch as well, but Bennett tackled him right away. A penalty was assessed for Johnson’s catch.

After the first week of training camp, Bennett was traded to the Eagles, and he has quickly made his way into the contention. Jackson and Ringo performed poorly during practice, necessitating a cornerback.They also had trouble versus the Cincinnati Bengals in their preseason encounter last week.

Although they both had some poor plays, both CBs appeared improved versus the Browns. Jackson missed the tackle after giving up WR Kaden Davis a nine-yard catch in the first quarter.

On a crosser, Jamari Thrashlater, a wide receiver for the Browns, outran Ringo by 19 yards. Then, on a WR screen, Ringo kept Thrash to two yards.

Bennett made a comeback in the third quarter after suffering a bang at the conclusion of the second. On the second drive, he made a tackle.

Jackson did not play throughout the second half, while Ringo and Bennett did. The Eagles’ CB2 predicament should worry them. This season, it might be their defense’s weak point.

The defensive linemen and linebackers for Philadelphia also showed off.

Jihaad Campbell, an Eagles rookie linebacker, rushed through the A-gap to sack Gabriel on the first drive.

On third-and-three in the first half, Eagles edge rusher Azeez Ojulari sacked Gabriel after defeating Browns offensive lineman Cornelius Lucas. This week, Ojulari performed at his peak during training camp, increasing his chances of making the 53-man squad.

Although Philadelphia’s defense is predicted to perform well once more, there are still issues.

Fangio needs to find free safety and good answers at CB2. The defense is strong enough elsewhere, even if those problems are not fixed.

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