Jordan Davis shining early in NFL career for Philadelphia Eagles
Former Georgia Bulldog defensive lineman star Jordan Davis is in his first year with the Philadelphia Eagles and is already making an impact. Through five weeks of the NFL season, Davis is the highest graded rookie defensive lineman according to Pro Football Focus with a grade of 80.5. The Eagles rookie has played 113 snaps for the NFL’s only remaining undefeated team, off to a 5-0 start for the first time since 2004 when they ended up in the Super Bowl, posting 11 total tackles including three run stuffs.
Davis was selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft at No. 13 overall by the Eagles, the highest drafted interior defensive lineman. He was one of three defensive linemen taken from Georgia’s 2021 defense in the first round and one of five defenders overall, joined by Travon Walker, Quay Walker, Devonte Wyatt and Lewis Cine.
Coming from Mallard Creek High School in Charlotte, North Carolina, Davis made an immediate impact for the Bulldogs in his freshman season in 2018, putting up 1.5 sacks and 12 total tackles with seven of them coming against LSU. He followed that up with 18 tackles, including 4.5 for loss and 2.5 sacks, in 2019 and 16 more in a shortened 2020 season. In 2021, Davis had his best season with 32 tackles including 5.5 for loss and 2.0 sacks, earning him the 2021 Outland Trophy, 2021 Chuck Bednarik Award and spots on the 2021 All-American First Team list for Associated Press, Walter Camp, AFCA, Sporting News, USA Today, ESPN, The Athletic, and CBS.
“Turn the tape on. This is a guy that was dominant in a very, very competitive league for multiple years,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said about Davis ahead of the draft. “You go back to his freshman year, he made impact plays in big games even then. The conditioning level in terms of the NFL, teams aren’t tempo teams in the NFL. It’s not how the game’s played. They go tempo only in two-minute, but it’s not a tempo game. He’s able to sustain that and be really active. He’s a lot better twitchy athlete than you might think for a big guy. He’s got great quick short-area movements. He’s going to make a great NFL player.”
“Being a run defender is what my bread and butter is,” Davis added. “That was the first thing I learned at the University of Georgia. Being a run defender and being stout in the middle and making sure I could get off, be an athlete, and make a play. It’s about playmaking ability while also being stout in the middle. It’s also about being selfless, not selfish. It takes a lot of selflessness to take two defenders so your linebackers can run free or so your safety can run down in the B-gap. It’s one of those things I learned along the way that I’m going to continue to carry with me.”
The Eagles will look to extend their undefeated record to 6-0 this Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, an NFC East rival of theirs that’s also off to a strong start having won four in a row with Cooper Rush at quarterback.
