Jordan Davis’ work ethic is impressing Eagles veterans — and paying off on the field
Davis, who was drafted No. 13 overall in 2022 out of Georgia, is taking after the veterans in his second year with the Eagles.
Lately, Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham sees nose tackle Jordan Davis a little more frequently in the halls of the NovaCare Complex and in the weight room.
No, that’s not simply because Davis is impossible to miss at 6-foot-6, 336 pounds, even in a sea of NFL players.
For Graham, who is in his 14th season with the Eagles and is Philadelphia’s longest-tenured current athlete, lingering longer at the facility and getting in extra work or recovery is a reflection of becoming a true professional. Davis, whom the Eagles selected in the first round, No. 13 overall in the 2022 draft out of Georgia, is taking after the veterans in the room and learning to prioritize the details off the field in his second year with the team.
“He’s doing a lot extra in the weight room,” Graham said Friday after practice. “Just not so quick to be out of here. I think that that always shows you a lot, because when you were younger, even myself, I had to learn, man, that stuff at home ain’t going nowhere. What you running home to do? Nothing. You just want to go. You just doing it because you’re young. You think you’re missing something. You ain’t missing nothing.”
In turn, Davis is thriving on the field. Going into Week 3, Pro Football Focus listed Davis as the fourth-ranked interior defensive lineman in the league behind teammate Jalen Carter, Atlanta’s David Onyemata, and Kansas City’s Chris Jones.
Davis has been known for his proficiency in stopping the run game and his general ability to leverage his frame as a tackler. In two games, Davis has eight tackles, including two “stops,” which PFF defines as tackles that constitute a failure for the offense. He also generated a forced fumble in Week 1 against the New England Patriots while tackling Ezekiel Elliott, who had caught a screen pass.
But this year, Davis also is finding his footing as a pass rusher. According to PFF, Davis has taken 19 run-defense snaps and 33 pass-rush snaps. He has racked up 1½ sacks, which is tied for the team lead with defensive end Josh Sweat. Additionally, Davis has one hit and one hurry in two games. Last year, he finished the season without a sack and eight quarterback hurries in 13 games. Regardless, Davis views his pass-rush improvement as part of his ongoing development.
“I mean, it’s what I’m supposed to do,” he said. “Whatever situation they throw me in, that’s what I want to do. Whether it’s third down, first down. I always say my job is to get them to third down. But now, I kind of want to be on the field.”
To Graham, Davis has always had the pass-rush ability. But for Davis to take the next step, he needed to get leaner and quicker to keep up with the pace of the NFL game.
“I think this offseason, he has been making sure he’s in the best shape that he can,” Graham said. “Getting him to that speed of what we do at this level, because every level is different. College, the ball is not out as fast as it is in the NFL. And I think that once he started to see like, ‘OK, I gotta start beating guys a little faster. I can’t waste a lot of steps.’”
Meanwhile, Davis isn’t the only Georgia Bulldog in an Eagles uniform getting after the quarterback. Carter also is creating havoc in the offensive backfield, generating a whopping 11 pressures (one sack, 10 hurries) in two games, per PFF. Most of that success came against the Patriots (eight hurries), when the league was getting its first taste of the rookie’s pass-rush prowess.
Reuniting this season on the Eagles has allowed Davis and Carter to “feed off each other’s energy,” Davis said, and push each other to be the best versions of themselves.
“This is what we did in college,” Davis said. “So it’s easy. Kind of going back to our regular days where it’s Jalen, I look to my side, it’s Jalen working. Be like, ‘Hey, Jalen, let’s do a little something after practice. Let’s watch this or let’s go watch this film.’ Shoot, we watch film on Chris Jones and Aaron Donald just to see what those guys are doing. So anything that we could do, I like to work together.”
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Last year as he learned what it takes to be a pro, Davis looked up to the likes of veterans Graham, Fletcher Cox, and Javon Hargrave, who departed in free agency to sign with the San Francisco 49ers. Now, Graham views Davis as a leader in his own right, especially among this year’s crop of Georgia draft picks including Carter, linebacker Nolan Smith, and cornerback Kelee Ringo.
As he grows into his new role and stretches himself in each area of his game, Davis is embracing the opportunity to do it all alongside his college teammates.
“Out of all the paths that we could have gone, all the paths that we could have crossed, we all end up back in Philly,” Davis said. “So it’s just a beautiful thing.”
The Eagles visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest story lines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from Tampa, Fla.