Eagles Jordan Davis Proud To Be A Nose Tackle, Reveals His Mantra

The Philadelphia Eagles' first-round pick in 2022 met with reporters to talk about the recent contract extension that made him the NFL's highest-paid nose tackle.

Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis talked on March 11, 2026, about his recent contract extension. | John McMullen/Eagles on SI

Jalen Carter was in the back of the auditorium at the Jefferson Training Center to support his friend and teammate, Jordan Davis. So was player development coach Matt Leo and Clint Hurtt, Davis’s position coach who should get a lot of credit for helping turn Davis into the player who is now the highest-paid nose tackle in the NFL after signing a three-year contract extension that guarantees him $65 million and can be worth $78 million, which is $26M per year.

The Eagles made Saquon Barkley the highest-paid running back with a contract extension last year. Now, it was Davis’s turn, and the team’s first-round back in 2022 met with reporters on Wednesday.

“The basic thing on my mind has just been the journey, and how quickly it came,” he said. “Four years seems like a very long time, but when you’re actually doing it, it goes by like that. I remember just coming in here for the first time, being wide-eyed, not knowing anybody.”

Now, Davis knows everybody and is one of the Eagles’ leaders. You might say, it’s just semantics, that really, he’s a defensive tackle, and that’s true to an extent, but the 6-6, 330-pound Davis wouldn’t say that. He takes pride in being a nose tackle and has his own philosophy about the position.

“I always came in saying, ‘Two on me, somebody’s free,’ and that’s the way it’s always gonna be,” he said. “That’s the mantra of a nose guard to be real. For your performance to affect the people behind you, the people beside you, it’s football, it’s a team game, but ‘two on me, somebody’s free’ is something that’s very important and I’ll never stop saying it.”

Jalen Carter On Hand To Support Trend-Setting Friend, Teammate

Jalen Carter (left) was on hand to hear Jordan Davis (right) talk to reporters about his contract extension that made the Eagles DT the highest-paid nose tackle in the NFL. | John McMullen/Eagles on SI

Why should he? He’s the trend setter at the position now.

“A big passion of mine is just being a premier nose guard, and I know that’s a position that’s overlooked a lot of times from the casual fan,” he said. “Not a lot of people know the importance of a true nose tackle, especially when you have the ability in our system to flip from 3-4 to 4-3. Nose guard is a position that doesn’t really get that accolade or premium for it because it’s a muddy position sometimes.

“You get two (people’s) hands on you in the run game, sometimes in the pass game, so to be able to go out here and prove to kids, and to show people that nose guards aren’t meant to be overlooked, that we have a true place in defense, I think that’s what makes me really proud to be a nose guard, really proud.”

Davis routinely gets double-teamed when he lines up over center. At least he did throughout his entire career, dating back to high school. He had to relearn how to play and work on technique to become a better pass rusher in the NFL, so he can, in turn, become a three-down player. That’s where Hurtt came in and worked with him on how to do that.

So, yes, he’s a nose tackle, but his skill set is developing as a defensive tackle.

“It takes a lot of heart, a lot of courage to be in the mud when 650-plus, 700 pounds (of two players) is pushing on you, and you’re just one person," he said. "I think that’s the beautiful thing about this game, and the biggest thing I have pride in is just playing as a nose guard.”