Jordan Davis is the Key to the Eagles' Defensive Puzzle
PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles have added plenty of potential difference-makes on the defensive side of the football this offseason, including proven veterans Haason Reddick, James Bradberry, and Kyzir White.
When it comes to improving what was the 10th ranked defense in the NFL last season, however, the biggest addition - both literally and figuratively - for Jonathan Gannon is rookie defensive tackle Jordan Davis.
If you peel back the onion a bit, Philadelphia's defensive "success" in 2021 wasn't all that it was cracked up to be, dominating against inferior quarterbacks while struggling mightily when the competition was ramped up.
In fact, more advanced contextual statistics often placed the Eagles' stop unit in the bottom third of the league.
In many ways, a top-10 defensive ranking for the Eagles was smoke and mirrors and the defensive additions amplify that sentiment because the organization clearly was hardly content with the status quo.
Other acquisitions will be perceived as far flashier than Davis but the Charlotte native is the domino that should allow the other pieces to start falling into place.
Last season, the Eagles' defensive linemen often had to play out of position because Philadelphia just didn't possess a player who took to zero- or one-technique naturally.
As good as Javon Hargrave was as a pass-rusher last season, he struggled mightily when forced to take on two blockers in run support while a whole host of players like Fletcher Cox, Josh Sweat, and Ryan Kerrigan were often asked to play roles outside their comfort zones.
Sometimes it just takes one piece of the puzzle to start an easy flow toward the entire picture and that's why Davis was so important for the Eagles and why the team made the targeted move up in the draft to get him.
"I’m excited for Big Boy," edge rusher Brandon Graham smiled when discussing Davis. "He’s going to be taking two or three people with him, hopefully, and take a lot off us. I believe he added more depth for us. It’s going to be a lot of fun bringing those guys once we get everybody up to speed."
While others are caught up in whether Gannon will define himself in the antiquated 4-3 or 3-4 labels, the DC's intent is to use multiple fronts depending on the week and the opposition. Sometimes you'll see a 40 front more than 30 or vice versa, and you might see a five-man overhang front more than both of those.
"Good luck blocking Jordan, he's pretty big," head coach Nick Sirianni said of the 6-foot-6, 340-pound Davis. "He can push the pocket. He can eat up double teams where they can't get back to the linebackers."
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Another exciting addition for Eagles fans is one of those LBs, Davis' teammate at Georgia, Nakobe Dean, and the third-round pick's impressive plays on the highlight film with the Bulldogs usually start with Davis tying up blockers so Dean could flow to the football easily and make the splash plays.
Georgia was so good defensively with so much talent en route to the national championship that they didn't ask projected stars like Davis and No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker to do all they could do, instead stressing discipline above all else.
Because of that, critics often label Davis as a two-down player but the Eagles think he can be much more than that.
"At that place, obviously they play really good football there, they didn't ask him to do that a lot," Gannon said of Davis. "But he definitely has the skill set to [rush the passer] when you start looking at how he moves and his body and his traits. He definitely will project to affect the game in the pass game, as well."
From Philadelphia's perspective, the floor for Davis is that two-down dominator, and the ceiling is a unicorn-like combination of Vita Vea and Aaron Donald.
"He's a big, explosive, violent man that can win one-on-one," noted Gannon. "... He will affect the quarterback in a good way. Excited about his skill set and what he can do in the run and pass game."
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
