Eagles Open Super Bowl Defense With Two Rookie Starters On Defense

PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles began defense of their Super Bowl championship with a pair of rookies in the starting lineup in the season opener. Hats off to general manager Howie Roseman for drafting linebacker Jihaad Campbell and safety Drew Mukuba, the coaches for trusting them, and to the players themselves.

They are the first rookie defenders to start a season opener since who knows when? It wasn't last year with Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, who didn't start until after the team's Week 5 bye. In 2021, the Eagles drafted DeVonta Smith and Landon Dickerson 1-2, but Dickerson was inactive for his first game in Atlanta.

“It says a lot,” said Mukuba. “This is a team that’s coming off a Super Bowl last year with a lot of returning starters, but me and Jihaad going out there as rookies starting says a lot about the work and preparation we put in when we got here. It’s paying off.”

Both Rookies Played Bulk Of Game In Debuts

Eagles S Drew Mukuba speaks after practice on Aug. 12, 2025 | John McMullen/Eagles On SI

This was no small role for either player. Both players said they weren’t told they were starting Thursday night’s season opener until Thursday morning.

Campbell played 56 snaps (92 percent) in the Eagles’ 24-20 win over the Dallas Cowboys before a rocking-and-rolling crowd at Lincoln Financial Field and Mukuba logged 51 snaps (81 percent).

Campbell, the 31st player taken overall last spring, made three tackles and was credited with a forced fumble. He also did well in coverage, especially on one pass down the seam intended for tight end Jake Ferguson that Campbell broke up about 30 yards away from the line of scrimmage.

.@Eagles @RealJihaadC with 2 great plays; one was the play of the game....showing off his massive skills @AlabamaFTBL #flyeaglesfly #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/9jodLy3NTz
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) September 5, 2025

Afterward, there was some uncertainty as to who stripped Dallas running back Miles Sanders inside the red zone for a turnover. Some think it was defensive tackle Byron Young, others, including the NFL statistician thought it was Campbell.

Either way, the rookie was in the middle of the game’s biggest play.

“I don’t know what happened,” said Campbell. “I just knew we had to attack the ball. Make the tackle first then get to the ball. Pretty sure Byron was on that. I don’t really know. I wrapped him up, got back up and saw the ball out and everybody started running and the celebration happened.”

Ah, the celebration was classic as the defense ran the short distance to the goal line and lined up to simulate the tush push with Mitchell, who recovered the fumble, acting as quarterback Jalen Hurts on the play.

Mukuba, who was the 64th player taken overall, made four tackles.

“First game, you know how they go, butterflies, kind of nervous before you take the field, a lot of excitement with everything going on tonight, and obviously it being my first game,” said Mukuba. “But you know, when the game starts, all that stuff you got let all that go and play football and try to win and do your best. That’s what it came down to. Overall, though, it was a good first game. A lot to learn, a lot to get better from, but you take the win any time.”

Mitchell and DeJean grew quickly and were finalists for the league’s defensive rookie of the year. The same thing could happen with Campbell and Mukuba.

“It’s always good to achieve a win, but we’re not satisfied,” said Campbell. “There’s a lot to learn from, there’s a lot to build on, it’s gonna be better later.”

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