Having excelled for both Clemson and Texas, Andrew Mukuba enters the 2025 NFL Draft as one of the top safeties in the class.
With four years of starting tape under his belt, Mukuba is battle-tested against some of the top offenses in the nation. He figures to be one of the top safeties selected come April.
Andrew Mukuba’s Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’0″
- Weight: 190 pounds
- Position: Safety
- School: Texas
- Current Year: Senior
Scouting Report
Mukuba was born in Harare, Zimbabwe, where he spent the first nine years of his life. He and his family immigrated to Austin, Texas, and he attended Lyndon B. Johnson High School. A four-star recruit coming out of high school, according to 247Sports, he had 60 tackles, six interceptions, and four forced fumbles as a senior. He committed to Clemson and enrolled early in 2021.
As a freshman, Mukuba was able to step into Clemson’s starting lineup and contribute right away. He was named a Freshman All-American and the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2021. In 13 games, he tallied 47 tackles, seven pass deflections, two tackles for a loss, and a sack. He became the first Tigers defensive back to start at least ten games as a freshman since Mackensie Alexander in 2013.
However, 2022 wasn’t as productive for Mukuba, as his allowed passer rating jumped from 93.6 in 2021 to 142.1; he logged an interception, but his pass deflections dropped to three, and he allowed four touchdowns in coverage. Nonetheless, Clemson won the ACC and finished the year ranked in the top 15.
After a down year in 2022, Mukuba bounced back in his junior year. Though he didn’t have any interceptions, he broke up six passes and allowed a completion percentage of just 54.3%. He took more reps in the slot than he did as a deep safety in 2023 and allowed a 64.9 passer rating in coverage as well. Despite NFL buzz, he decided to not only return to college for his senior year but enter the transfer portal.
Mukuba made the jump to Texas for the 2024 season and had his best season to date. He finished the year with five interceptions, leading the SEC, and he allowed a passer rating of just 15.5. The Longhorns utilized him more as a true deep safety than the jack-of-all-trades weapon he was at Clemson. He finished the year with an 88.8 PFF grade, including an 89.7 grade in coverage.
Strengths
- Well-rounded defensive back with 943 career reps as a deep safety, 357 snaps in the box, and 697 reps in the slot.
- Versatility requires intelligence, which he displays in his processing speed in coverage.
- Fluid athlete who changes direction seamlessly in two-high shells.
- Capable of covering a good amount of space in a short amount of time, closing in towards the sidelines as a deep safety in Cover 2 or Cover 3.
- Plays with an aggressive edge when he’s closing in on the ball in coverage.
- Has the agility to work well across his body and accelerate coming out of his breaks.
- Offers good ball-tracking skills, showing off the ability to get underneath the deep ball.
- Capable of picking up on route concepts and understanding the quarterback’s progressions, which puts him in a better position to jump routes and make a play on the ball.
- Showcases very good closing speed as a tackler, shooting downhill with ideal explosiveness and longitudinal agility.
Weaknesses
- Frame is a little bit wiry and could afford to pack on a little bit more muscle at the NFL level.
- Struggles with shedding blocks, as he keeps a higher center of gravity at the point of attack and doesn’t have ideal physicality engaging in contact.
- Though he showcases ideal effort as a tackler, his form as a regular shoe-string tackler diving at the ankles can result in higher missed tackle percentages.
- Straight-line speed is solid but not elite.
- Doesn’t have the physicality needed to consistently bring down ball carriers, even when he does wrap up with proper form and pad level.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Through some of his ups and downs at the collegiate level, Mukuba comes out of college after arguably the best of his four seasons between his stints at Clemson and Texas.
Mukuba is a valuable coverage safety who brings an intriguing combination of ball skills, route-recognition capabilities, and coverage range. He’s a quick processor whose work in the film room helps him maximize his fluidity and quickness. During his time at Clemson, he showed he could break up passes and track down the deep ball. At Texas, he finally had the interception production to back that up.
His skinnier frame could make it difficult to be a consistent tackler at the NFL level, and if he does add more weight to his frame, it could take him some time to adjust appropriately.
He doesn’t have top-notch physicality and struggles with taking on blocks, which can hurt him when defending out of the box. This lack of tremendous play strength could also prove to be an issue for him in man coverage assignments against bigger receivers or tight ends.
Mukuba doesn’t project as a first-round pick because of his skinnier frame and below-average physicality. However, he looks the part of a talented playmaking safety with the ball-hawking mentality, football IQ, and hip fluidity needed to make plays in coverage consistently. Day 2 seems like the appropriate range for a player with his skill set, particularly around late Round 2 or early Round 3.
