Patriots draft profile: Andrew Mukuba offers impressive range at the safety position

Scouting report for the Texas safety, who projects as a mid-round pick in the NFL Draft.

For years, the safety group has been one of the strongest on the New England Patriots’ roster. With Kyle Dugger and Jabrill Peppers leading the way, that remains the case heading into 2025 — at least on paper. With a new coaching staff in town that has shown a willingness to shake things up, after all, there is no telling what the future holds at the position.

But even if no immediate change is on the horizon, the Patriots investing in said future could happen in this year’s draft. If so, Texas’ Andrew Mukuba is a player to keep an eye on.

Hard facts

Name: Andrew Mukuba

Position: Safety

School: Texas

Opening day age: 22 (12/7/2002)

Measurements: 5’11 1/4”, 186 lbs, 75 3/8” wingspan, 30” arm length, 9” hand size, 4.45s 40-yard dash, 7.15s 3-cone drill, 4.45s short shuttle, 5.12 Relative Athletic Score

Experience

Colleges: Clemson (2021-23), Texas (2024)

Career statistics: 50 games (43 starts) | 2,452 defensive snaps, 276 special teams snaps | 212 tackles, 32 missed tackles (13.1%), 8.5 TFLs, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries | 137 targets, 86 catches surrendered (62.8%), 1,073 yards, 6 TDs, 6 INTs | 6 quarterback pressures (1 sack, 1 hit, 4 hurries) | 2 special teams tackles, 1 missed tackles (33.3%)

Accolades: Third-team All-SEC (2024), Third-team All-ACC (2021), Freshman All-American (2021), ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year (2021)

Born in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, Mukuba’s family moved to the United States in 2012. He began playing football in sixth grade, and later was a wide receiver and defensive back at Lyndon B. Johnson Early College in Austin, TX. He was rated as a four-star recruit coming out of high school and drew interest from some of the top programs in the country before committing to Clemson.

Mukuba spent three years with the Tigers, showing immediate promise as a freshman starter. In total, he appeared in 35 games with 31 starts at Clemson before entering the transfer portal in December 2023. He decided to return home for his final year of eligibility, joining the Longhorns in January 2024. His lone season at Texas was a success, with Mukuba setting career-highs in interceptions (5), tackles (69) and tackles for loss (4).

After the season, he participated in both the Senior Bowl and the Scouting Combine.

Draft profile

Expected round: 3-4 | Consensus big board: No. 74 | Patriots meeting: N/A

Strengths: An experienced deep-field safety who started 43 games and played a combined 2,452 defensive snaps between his stints at Clemson and Texas, Mukuba offers a lot of intriguing attributes starting with his range. He ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash at the Scouting Combine (84 percentile) and looks the part on the field, quickly getting up to speed to gain on ball carriers and confidently defending deep zones sideline-to-sideline.

He has shown some good instincts and reactionary skills in the open field, trusting his athletic talents to play a patient style of football. While still able to lay the hammer as a tackler, he refrains from overcommitting to route combinations or giving up on his leverage. Mukuba’s fast processor in combination with natural explosivity also allows him to be a productive player at the catch point — he had five interceptions and 11 pass breakups in 2024 alone — and to aggressively play downhill against the run.

Weaknesses: Mukuba’s performance is not supported by strong testing numbers, with his 3-cone and short shuttle times particularly underwhelming for a prospect generally showing solid movement skills on the field. He also is not the most imposing figure in the secondary, standing at just 5-foot-11 and 186 pounds. His frame could pose a problem when playing in the box or when faced against bigger blockers and receivers better suited to shield him off.

As a consequence, he might not be suited for every role or assignment. He offers little as a second-level blitzer, for example, and could struggle when going 1-on-1 versus tight ends or shifty slot receivers.

Patriots preview

What would be his role? Mukuba wore various hats during his college career, but he best projects as a free safety in charge of defending the deep parts of the field. His impressive range allows him to function in single-high coverages, which in turn would allow the Patriots’ current group of safeties — Kyle Dugger, Jabrill Peppers, Marte Mapu — to play its natural roles in the box. Mukuba would compete for free safety snaps with recently re-signed Jaylinn Hawkins.

What is his growth potential? Mukuba’s processing skills should translate well to the NFL game, which in turn would allow him to see the field from early on. His growth potential therefore lies more in his physical makeup — he would benefit from adding more muscle to his frame — as well as learning to use his aggressiveness in more of a controlled manner.

Does he have positional versatility? As noted above, Mukuba was used all over the secondary and moved between deep safety, box safety, slot defender and even split out wide. At the next level, however, a more clearly-defined role as a free safety might allow to keep him out of harm’s way as far as his limitations are concerned. He also should be able to help out in the kicking game from Day 1, with his straight-line speed a potential asset on coverage plays.

Why the Patriots? Mukuba offers a skillset well-suited to complement the other safeties on the roster, and would give the Patriots some longer-term vision at the position. That is especially true given the uncertainty surrounding virtually every other safety under contract — including the aforementioned Jaylinn Hawkins: while re-signed in free agency and projected to play a role similar to the one Mukuba would play, he is on a one-year deal and not guaranteed to be on the 53-man roster come September.

Why not the Patriots? While New England adding a true free safety to the mix makes sense, the position as a whole is on the lower end of the need spectrum at the moment. Additionally, the club might not be willing to invest a mid-round selection in an undersized player whose athletic testing was disappointing during the pre-draft process.

One-sentence verdict: Mukuba checks plenty of boxes from a Patriots perspective, and should at the very least be in the conversation if still on the board at No. 77 in the third round.

What do you think about Andrew Mukuba as a potential Patriots target? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.