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The Eagles’ biggest competition during training camp will be at safety, and that position is also their most glaring weakness heading into the 2026 season.
After losing veteran Reed Blankenship to the Houston Texans in free agency this past March, the Eagles are left with second-year safety Drew Mukuba as their top starter; he still has a lot to prove after an inconsistent rookie season.
At the other safety spot, Marcus Epps and Michael Carter II will compete for the starting job. If both struggle during training camp, the Eagles will likely add another safety via free agency or through a trade.
A good season from Mukuba will raise the ceiling and the floor of the Eagles’ secondary and help cover up potential issues at the other safety spot. But a bad year from Mukuba will hold the Eagles back from reaching their full potential on defense. How he plays this year will determine whether the safety unit is actually a weakness or could become a strength.
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Mukuba missed six games last year after fracturing his fibula in the Eagles’ Week 12 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, stunting the progress he was starting to make down the stretch. He returned to the field this spring for organized team activities (OTAs) and mandatory minicamp, and, according to the Eagles’ coaches, he played well in those practices.
“I’ve been really pleased with the rehab process and where he’s at right now,” Eagles’ defensive pass game coordinator Joe Kasper said during OTAs. “I wasn’t sure [what to expect]. I’m not a doctor, a trainer, so I wasn’t sure where he would get to by the time we got to this point with what he had suffered from. And I’m thrilled that he’s out there with us, and he’s done an exceptional job.”
Mukuba missed tackles and blew coverages early in the 2025 season, which led to explosive plays and touchdowns for the opposing teams, but as the season progressed, the Eagles’ coaches saw Mukuba learn from his mistakes and get more comfortable.
“As you guys know, last year, his season — first off, his training camp was interrupted by a couple injuries that kept him out for two different lumps of time,” Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “Started off the season up and down, had some shaky plays. But I felt like the last five or six games prior to him getting hurt, he was coming on and hopefully he’ll be able to pick up from there.”
“My impressions [of Drew] were strong,” Kasper said a week after Fangio spoke. “I really like Drew a lot. I’m thrilled that he’s here. I was thrilled when we took him [in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft]. I was disappointed to see him get hurt, obviously, but he had taken some major steps, major steps from when he first got here. And he continued to get better, and he continues to get better every day.”
Kasper and Fangio both described the battle for the other safety spot as an open competition, with Epps and Carter firmly in the mix.
Epps started four games for the Eagles last season, finishing with 21 tackles. His performance in place of Mukuba was solid, and overall, he has been an adequate starting safety during his career. He started 17 games for the Eagles’ defense that made the Super Bowl in the 2022-2023 season and left after that year to sign a two-year contract with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Epps rejoined the Eagles last year after he was waived by the New England Patriots, with whom he had signed a one-year deal with last offseason. At 30 years old and two seasons removed from a torn ACL, Epps still has something left in the tank, as he proved last year in a small sample.
He is slightly favored to win the job over Carter, who is moving to safety after primarily playing nickel cornerback in the NFL.
“I was pleasantly surprised,” Fangio said about Epps’ performance in 2025. “Maybe surprised is the wrong word because I just really didn’t know him. But when he had to play last year, he came in and showed his experience, showed his instincts that he has for the game. I was pleased with the way he played last year. I wasn’t considering him an old player at this point, but he’s obviously a veteran. I think he’ll do fine. I’m not sure what his injury history has been, but I think if he stays injury-free and if he wins the job, we’ll be fine.”
The Eagles acquired Carter at the 2025 NFL trade deadline with the hopes he would improve their slot depth behind Cooper DeJean. Now, they are moving him back to his old position.
During his college career at Duke, Carter was the starting safety on the Blue Devils’ defense, and was coached by Kasper, who served as a graduate assistant on the coaching staff.
Seeing Carter back at safety makes the young coach excited.
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“His intelligence,” said Kasper, speaking about what stands out in Carter. “...Intelligence is a premium in the evaluation process, and the personnel department has done a great job of emphasizing that specifically as it speaks to the scheme that we run here. And Mike fits into that. And he’s doubly as helpful or enticing of a player to have because he can play multiple spots and he’s done it at a high level.”
The Eagles will play DeJean at safety in the base package, but for the most part, Carter and Epps will have to play most of the snaps. One of those two players needs to emerge during training camp as a solid starter to prevent the position from being a weakness.
“He’s an instinctive player,” Fangio said of Carter’s promise at safety. “I think he has a good feel for the game. What little he did play for us last year, he did show that. I don’t think he’ll have a hard time learning the position mentally. He’s just got to go out there and be able to do it.”
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