Overview

Position: S

College: Texas

Class: Senior

Age: 22

 

Measurables

Height: 5’11 1/4″

Weight: 186 lbs.

Arm length: 30”

Hand size: 9”

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 4.45 sec.

10-yard split: 1.53 sec.

Vertical jump: N/A

Broad jump: N/A

Bench press: N/A

3-cone drill: N/A

Short shuttle: N/A

 

Strengths

Outstanding instincts. Twitchy movement skills. Plays with violence and aggression. Great acceleration. Excellent speed. Extremely quick reaction time. Terrific overall play recognition in zone coverage. Quick cover transitions in zone coverage. Instant trigger to break on throws in front of him. Reads the quarterback’s eyes and reacts in deep zone coverage. Quick in the backpedal to get depth as a deep safety. Immediately breaks on throws and is aggressive at the catch point. Extremely accurate wrapping and getting a hand in at the catch point. Quick reacting to underneath route breaks in man coverage. Exceptional ball skills and catch focus. Had a highlight interception in robber coverage versus Georgia (2024). Diagnoses and quickly reacts to perimeter screens. Can deliver crushing hits and make pass-catchers think twice going over the middle. Quick triggering downhill in run support. Extremely aggressive tackler. Takes great angles in pursuit to the ball. Very effective wrapping below the waist and not letting go. Quick to break down for tackles but still finishes with aggression. Excellent feet to break down for cutting ball-carriers while in pursuit toward the sideline. Will fly downhill and chop down ball-carriers in space. Very comfortable coming down to tackle in the box. Stays square and prepared to react when filling down in run support. Works to get off blocks in space. Fast as a blitzer off the edge. Great versatility. Rotates from split looks to single-high safety to playing close to the line of scrimmage. Played a lot of slot cornerback at Clemson.

 

Weaknesses

Below-average build for his play style and physicality. Could have better recognition of deep crossing routes as a single-high safety. Not as effective in man coverage playing deeper route breaks with a cushion. Can struggle with size in man coverage. Lack of size/strength can prevent instant takedowns versus bigger ball-carriers. Has some trouble disengaging from blocks. Needs to be careful about getting fooled by misdirection due to aggressiveness.

 

NFL comparison

Jimmie Ward

 

Conclusion

Overall, Mukuba is an instinctive, physical safety who makes plays in coverage and tackles at a high level. His versatility and the energy he will bring to a defense should make Mukuba one of the top safeties drafted.

 

Big Board ranking: #49 | Positional ranking: #4