Jordan Davis is downplaying the viral video hype, but the Eagles hope he has a trickle-down effect

Josh Sweat was laughing, but having to play the defensive tackle spot again last season was no laughing matter for the Eagles defensive end.

“I hope,” Sweat said when asked if the arrival of Jordan Davis meant fewer inside snaps this season. “But who knows? Yeah, I hope.”

Sweat wasn’t the only defensive lineman who had to play out of position last season as Jonathan Gannon transitioned the Eagles’ penetrating 4-3 to a hybrid front. The new defensive coordinator still had a few square pegs, and if that meant forcing them into his round holes on occasion, so be it.

But it wasn’t ideal and became painfully obvious anytime Sweat or another edge defender was lined up inside and tasked with taking on two offensive linemen.

Enter Davis.

The Eagles traded up for the Georgia product in the first round of April’s NFL draft, first and foremost, because of his unique combination of size, strength, and speed. The 6-foot-6, 340-pound defensive tackle who ran a 4.78-second 40-yard dash should thrive in any defensive alignment.

But Davis also fills the central hole in Gannon’s scheme. As the nose tackle, he should not only occupy blockers and draw attention away from other D-linemen, but also create a domino effect in personnel, which should result in Sweat getting his wish.

Javon Hargrave and Fletcher Cox will likely have fewer snaps at the nose and more at the 4i-technique spots, which would in theory prevent Sweat and other defensive ends from having to slide inside in 3-4 looks.

Gannon wants versatile linemen for his multiple fronts. And sometimes just having a body occupying blockers will get the job done. But opposing offenses often exploited the Eagles front when Sweat, Ryan Kerrigan, Tarron Jackson, or Cameron Malveaux were at the 4i-technique spot.

“Sometimes that’s a personnel package thing,” Gannon said on Tuesday. “I would think that hopefully when we set up the game plan that we can put our guys in spots that they’re very comfortable in and that we feel they can execute and win their matchups.”

Does that mean the ends will still have to play some tackle?

“I think they all can do it,” Gannon responded. “I don’t know if I want them doing that all the time.”

Brandon Graham, for instance, has shown before that he can play both inside and out effectively. His return should also benefit Sweat and Co. But Davis, along with the developing Marlon Tuipulotu, who is expected to back up the rookie, give Gannon two bona fide nose tackles.

“With Jordan, we’re trying to train him at multiple positions, but this guy sometimes when he’s at the nose, he creates one-on-ones for [guys] like Fletch and Javon,” Eagles defensive line coach Tracy Rocker said. “When he’s sitting there, you have to block him, and sometimes it requires two, and sometimes it requires three.”

The Eagles have favored four-man fronts for most of the last 35 years, but when they have had odd-man, most recently when Chip Kelly was head coach, their nose tackles were on the squatty side. Davis is massive, but he’s also long and freakishly athletic.

He should be capable of more than just eating up space. In college, he mostly played the traditional nose tackle spot and used two-gap technique to create opportunities for others. But the Eagles project more and have him learning how to penetrate as a pass rusher.

“We just take 5-10 minutes out of the practice to just work on getting vertical,” Rocker said. “As part of what he was taught in college was to read and react, where we’re trying to get vertical. And it’s part of the growth process. He’s not used to it, but we have to keep repping it every day.”

» READ MORE: Eagles rookie Jordan Davis is a bulldozer in his training camp reps — and a sponge

Davis has stood out in training camp, but mostly in the one-on-one matchups he should comparatively dominate. But team drills have been a different story, and it is why Rocker called him a “typical rookie” in terms of his early progress.

He has spoken about the mental challenges of having to learn so much that is so new. His defensive linemates, when asked about Davis, marvel at his dimensions, but each response comes with a caution.

“Right now, everything is new to him,” Graham said. “He looks good, but once he really knows, he’s going to be a dominant force.”

Davis seems to understand as well as anyone that his measurables don’t guarantee him instant success. Asked for an example of when he first realized his considerable strength, the 22-year-old’s answer suggested that he’s less impressed with his natural abilities than of optimizing them.

He told a story about how he was unable to bench 225 pounds or squat 285 pounds as a sophomore after transferring to Mallard Creek High School in Charlotte.

“But once I learned the technique,” Davis said Wednesday, “by the end of the next year, I was squatting 500 and benching like 315-325.”

Davis is also seemingly indifferent about the hullabaloo that comes with being a top draft pick or that has sprung from early practice reports. He has dutifully carried out rookie chores like carrying helmets after practice, fetching Rita’s water ice for veterans, and singing in front of the entire team — Davis chose Rick James’ “Mary Jane” — at the start of camp.

When the Eagles opened practice at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday, one fan shot and posted video of Davis driving rookie center Cam Jurgens back on his heels in one-on-one drills. It went viral with many magnifying the moment.

Davis provided context, however.

“I hate it, honestly,” Davis said. “It’s very one-sided. You see one rep, but you don’t see Cam ... getting me in the other reps. I always say looks can be deceiving. One rep goes viral — whatever, whoop de woo.

“Cam was holding his own.”

It’s easy to get excited about Davis, especially if his presence trickles down in how the rest of the defense is employed. He will attract blockers to free up his linemates and the linebackers, but he will also fill run gaps and allow Gannon more defensive backs in cover.

But in terms of personnel, defensive linemen who predated the coordinator’s arrival will return to do more of what they’re better at.

Hargrave was over the center a lot in Pittsburgh, but the Eagles signed him because they saw his explosiveness as a pass rusher. His rush numbers increased across the board in his second season in Philly despite the fact that he lined up as the nose 129 more times, according to Pro Football Focus, than he did in 2020.

Davis and Tuipoluto, who should fill Hassan Ridgeway’s backup role, should conceivably give him more one-on-one opportunities. And more of Hargrave, and to a lesser extent Cox and the ascending Milton Williams, at the 4i-technique spot, means less of Sweat and Jackson on the inside.

“This year, more so, I’m just going to be on the edge,” Jackson said.

Sweat was stuck inside at Florida State. He didn’t get to show off his explosiveness from the edge and dropped into the fourth round of the 2018 NFL draft. A devastating knee injury in high school also worried some NFL scouts, but the Eagles envisioned Sweat as a pin-his-ears-back end in former defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz’s penetrating 4-3 front.

He’s had to adjust to setting the edge in a 3-4 front — or 5-2, if you will — but that is where he should exclusively line up on run downs. There will be a rotation, of course, with Haason Reddick, Derek Barnett, Graham, Jackson, and possibly Patrick Johnson or Kyron Johnson at the overhang position.

But Davis, at least on paper, keeps them on the outside — where they prefer to be.

“To say, ‘Two on me, somebody’s free,’ ” Davis said. “To be able to do that, to … know that the guys are looking at me to be an addition to the team, it makes me feel good because I feel like I’m bringing something to the board and I’m able to contribute to this team.

“But I’m not here to be ‘the guy,’ I’m just here to be a part of it.”

But there may be no other guy ever like him.

Eagles football is back! Inquirer Eagles beat reporters EJ Smith and Josh Tolentino will preview the first preseason action for the Birds live from Philly, detailing the roster battles and potential contributors ahead of the game. Tune in at: Inquirer.com/EaglesGameday