Eagles Position Battle Preview: Can Marcus Epps Build on Last Season?
Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has already essentially named Andrew Mukuba and Cooper DeJean as the starting safety duo in the team’s base defense. Yet according to Sūmer Sports, the Eagles were only in base defense on 24.19% of their defensive plays during the regular season in 2025. Therefore, the third safety will be key and play a significant role in Philadelphia.
Fangio has made it clear that DeJean will still play slot cornerback in the team’s nickel defense. In 2024, the Eagles were in nickel defense on 80.38% of their defensive plays. In 2025, that percentage dropped down to 73.77%. Yet the total snap count averages out to nearly 800 snaps per season in nickel defense during Fangio’s tenure in Philadelphia.
While DeJean will be the second starting safety in Philadelphia’s base defense, whoever wins the third safety job is truly a starter. The Eagles will still be operating in their nickel defense on a large majority of their defensive snaps and Fangio will have to trust the player that replaces DeJean at safety in those looks.
Who will win the third safety job for the Eagles and play a key role in 2026? Here’s a closer look at Philadelphia’s safety battle.
Marcus Epps
Chance of winning the S3 job: 50%
The 30-year-old veteran safety is the current favorite to win the job and rightfully so. Epps stepped in as a starter following Mukuba’s injury last season and played well. While Epps may not have a super high, exciting ceiling like a younger option may provide, he provides a solid floor that could be key in the back end of Philadelphia’s defense in 2026.
Epps looked impressive when flying downhill for the Eagles last season. He sets the tone with his physicality, while not getting out of control. The biggest concern with Epps is his coverage ability, which was inconsistent in 2025. According to Pro Football Focus, Epps allowed eight completions on nine targets for 112 yards and a passer rating of 118.5 last season. He’ll have to clean things up in coverage to maintain his lead for the job.
Michael Carter II
Chance of winning the S3 job: 30%
The Eagles traded for Carter ahead of last season’s trade deadline in a move that simply looked like it was for depth at slot cornerback. According to Pro Football Focus, Carter has played 2,266 of his 2,718 career snaps in the NFL at slot cornerback. Yet Carter interestingly received 15 snaps at safety for the Eagles in Week 18 last season.
Fast forward to 2026 and Carter is one of the top two candidates competing for a key role at the position in Philadelphia. While Carter doesn’t have the experience at safety that Epps possesses, he is three years younger and has the positional versatility that Fangio covets. It’s also worth noting that Joe Kasper, who was promoted by the Eagles this offseason, was with Carter at Duke for three seasons.
TBD
Chance of winning the S3 job: 15%
Now here is the real wild card for the safety battle in Philadelphia. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is never afraid to make a move and he did exactly that in 2022. Roseman was clearly underwhelmed by the team’s safety competition and made a trade in late August with the New Orleans Saints for C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
The Eagles are entering training camp with an eerily similar safety situation in 2026. Several potential trade targets have already been mentioned including Grant Delpit, Jessie Bates III, Budda Baker and DeShon Elliott. Philadelphia could also sign a veteran safety like Jordan Whitehead or Taylor Rapp. While I wouldn’t bet on these potential options over Epps or Carter, I’ve learned to never say never.
Kapena Gushiken
Chance of winning the S3 job: 2%
The undrafted free agent signing that can do it all in the secondary caught my eye when I saw that he received $272,500 fully guaranteed from the Eagles, ranking first in their haul following the 2026 NFL Draft. Yet Gushiken has apparently caught the eye of Fangio, who has nicknamed him “Gush.” In all seriousness, Gushiken may be undersized at 5’9”, 189 lbs., but he possesses the attitude and ability to turn heads during training camp and preseason.
Cole Wisniewski
Chance of winning the S3 job: 1.5%
Unlike “Gush,” Fangio actually forgot to mention Eagles seventh-round pick Cole Wisniewski when rattling off players in the team’s safety battle. While Wisniewski missed some time due to injury earlier in the offseason, hopefully he’ll be good to go for the start of training camp. Given that he was drafted, he’ll have a chance to compete but I doubt that he’ll push for the starting job.
Maximus Pulley
Chance of winning the S3 job: 1%
Could Pulley be this year’s version of Darius Cooper in Philadelphia? Cooper surprised during training camp and preseason as an undrafted free agent signing from an FCS school, ultimately earning a roster spot. Now Pulley is already off to a solid start as he reportedly made a few plays during the team’s mandatory minicamp. If Pulley continues to stand out, maybe he can push for more than just a roster spot in Philadelphia.
Andre’ Sam
Chance of winning the S3 job: 0.5%
After signing with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2024, Sam has stuck around in Philadelphia. Yet he has spent a large portion of his first two seasons in the NFL on the Eagles practice squad and has only played three defensive snaps in Philadelphia. At 27-years old, Sam should have more experience at the next level than he does. Yet given his time in Fangio’s scheme, I’ll give him a slight chance.