diff --git a/eth/dropper.go b/eth/dropper.go
index 5b49a98185..6a8554eb83 100644
--- a/eth/dropper.go
+++ b/eth/dropper.go
@@ -189,6 +189,25 @@ func (cm *dropper) dropRandomPeer() bool {
 	return true
 }
 
+// topN returns the top n elements from items by score (descending).
+// Only elements with score > 0 are included. The input slice is not modified.
+func topN[T any](items []T, n int, score func(T) float64) []T {
+	if n == 0 || len(items) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	cp := make([]T, len(items))
+	copy(cp, items)
+	sort.Slice(cp, func(i, j int) bool { return score(cp[i]) > score(cp[j]) })
+
+	var result []T
+	for i := 0; i < n && i < len(cp); i++ {
+		if score(cp[i]) > 0 {
+			result = append(result, cp[i])
+		}
+	}
+	return result
+}
+
 // protectedPeers computes the set of peers that should not be dropped based
 // on inclusion stats. Each protection category independently selects its
 // top-N peers per inbound/dialed pool; the union is returned.
@@ -200,42 +219,27 @@ func (cm *dropper) protectedPeers(peers []*p2p.Peer) map[*p2p.Peer]bool {
 	if len(stats) == 0 {
 		return nil
 	}
-	type peerWithStats struct {
-		peer *p2p.Peer
-		s    PeerInclusionStats
-	}
-	var inbound, dialed []peerWithStats
+	// Split peers by direction.
+	var inbound, dialed []*p2p.Peer
 	for _, p := range peers {
-		entry := peerWithStats{p, stats[p.ID().String()]}
 		if p.Inbound() {
-			inbound = append(inbound, entry)
+			inbound = append(inbound, p)
 		} else {
-			dialed = append(dialed, entry)
+			dialed = append(dialed, p)
 		}
 	}
 	result := make(map[*p2p.Peer]bool)
-
-	protectTopN := func(entries []peerWithStats, cat protectionCategory) {
-		n := int(float64(len(entries)) * cat.frac)
-		if n == 0 {
-			return
-		}
-		sort.Slice(entries, func(i, j int) bool {
-			return cat.score(entries[i].s) > cat.score(entries[j].s)
-		})
-		for i := 0; i < n && i < len(entries); i++ {
-			if cat.score(entries[i].s) > 0 {
-				result[entries[i].peer] = true
-			}
-		}
-	}
 	for _, cat := range protectionCategories {
-		inCopy := make([]peerWithStats, len(inbound))
-		copy(inCopy, inbound)
-		dialCopy := make([]peerWithStats, len(dialed))
-		copy(dialCopy, dialed)
-		protectTopN(inCopy, cat)
-		protectTopN(dialCopy, cat)
+		// Build a score function that looks up the peer's stats.
+		score := func(p *p2p.Peer) float64 {
+			return cat.score(stats[p.ID().String()])
+		}
+		for _, p := range topN(inbound, int(float64(len(inbound))*cat.frac), score) {
+			result[p] = true
+		}
+		for _, p := range topN(dialed, int(float64(len(dialed))*cat.frac), score) {
+			result[p] = true
+		}
 	}
 	if len(result) > 0 {
 		log.Debug("Protecting high-value peers from drop", "protected", len(result))