Eagles Training Camp: The Jordan Davis hype is ramping up
When the Eagles selected Georgia’s Jordan Davis with their first-round pick in April’s NFL Draft, it was met with mixed reviews.
The 6-foot-6, 340-pound defensive tackle was one of the most unique prospects in the entire class. His combination of size and unworldly athleticism makes the former Bulldog a complete anomaly. NFL scouts had a hard time finding comparisons for the Georgia product because, well, there just aren’t any defensive tackles built quite like Davis is.
On the other hand, his lowly snap count and sack numbers at Georgia were a bit alarming. During the SEC Championship game against Alabama, the defensive tackle was rendered useless by Bama’s up-tempo offense. He just couldn’t keep pace, which led scouts to question his overall conditioning and how it could affect him at the next level.
Despite those concerns, Howie Roseman felt comfortable enough with Davis’ athletic build to trade up for him this past April. Now that media members and fans are witnessing the rookie first-hand, Eagles nation is starting to fully buy into the hype.
With over 30,000 Eagles fans in attendance for the team’s open practice on Sunday, Davis made his presence known.
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During 1-on-1 drills with fellow rookie Cam Jurgens, Davis completely manhandled the center. Jurgens is obviously no slouch. Despite coming in at 6-foot-3, 303 pounds, the first-round pick made Jurgens look like a pop warner football player in this clip.
Local pundits have been singing Davis’ praise all summer
During the first week of camp, Philly Voice’s Jimmy Kempski wrote, “Jordan Davis is a beast. He did not face off against any starters, but he emphatically won all but one of his reps.”
NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Reuben Frank calmed some of the concerns surrounding the defensive tackle with his camp observations.
“Jordan Davis is wayyyyyy more advanced than I expected,” Frank writes. “I thought he might be a 20-to-25-snap guy this year. Figured the Eagles would bring him along slowly since they have so much depth on the interior of the defensive line and there were questions about his conditioning. But I’ll tell you what, he looks fit and athletic on that 6-6 frame and has clearly spent the last few months really focused on his conditioning.”
Davis’ teammates have been taking notice too. Future Hall of Fame center Jason Kelce was one of them
“[Davis is] taking everything in. That tells me that he’s willing to grow and he’s trying to improve his craft,” Kelce said. “Those are the guys, when you combine that with the physical skill set he has, it’s very good to see.”
His running mate at defensive tackle, Javon Hargrave, shared a similar sentiment.
“I think he’s just really putting his head down and really just learning from everybody.”
While all of these positive notes on Davis are certainly encouraging, we have to remember that this is still just training camp. We won’t know exactly how far along Davis is until the games begin in September.
The good news for the Eagles is, regardless if Davis is ready to start come Week 1, Jonathan Gannon has plenty of options to work with along the interior of his defensive line. Hargrave is coming off a Pro Bowl year, Fletcher Cox is still a solid presence, and Milton Williams provides nice pass rushing ability.
As long as Davis can provide his trademark disruption whenever he gets some action, his impact in year one will be noteworthy.
If you weren’t already excited about what this guy can potentially become, the constant praise he’s receiving during camp should get you on board.
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