The Drill That Could Help Eagles' DT Take The Next Step

PHILADELPHIA - Jordan Davis is probably as “lean” as a 350-pound man can be after giving up the “AriZonas,” a staple of his Southern roots.

The thought around the NovaCare Complex is that the only thing between good and great for Davis is the conditioning he’s struggled with during his first two professional seasons.

“Obviously it looks a lot better than how it did last year,” Davis said of his frame. “And I feel a lot better than I did last year. We’re just continuing on, we have a plan here, and we’ll just keep on working.”

New defensive coordinator Vic Fangio intimated that he wants Davis playing a lot and the Georgia product himself had honed into the conditioning aspect of the job.

The third leg of that trinity is defensive line coach Clint Hurtt, a man who can rival the size of his student and looks like he could play nose tackle in the NFL himself.

“The No. 1 thing for him is just being in the best shape he possibly can be in,” Hurtt said. “And he’s taken huge strides with that this offseason and it’s a work in progress but he’s off to a really, really good start.

“If he’s in great condition and he can play all out … Then he’s going to be a hard guy to block.”

From a physical standpoint, few 6-foot-6, 350-pound men in the world can move like Davis and Fangio wants him as a staple in his variable fronts which toggle from 50 (five-man fronts) to 40 (four-man) depending on down and distance.

“He’s a huge man, long arms, strong, he can get up and down and make tackles in the tackle box,” Hurtt said. “The No. 1 thing for him is conditioning. Can he be in great shape? And we’re off to a nice start with that.”

The heat was summer-like in South Philadelphia for the first two days of mandatory minicamp this week so that was a nice primer for Davis, the No. 13 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft

Hurtt has been putting his players through box drills to push them physically.

“A lot of it for him is just pushing yourself to the point of exhaustion,” Hurtt said. “When you’re at what you think is your limit, and then take it another step. And then do it another time and again and again and again. Because you’re building mental toughness along the way.”

Nolan Smith was a teammate with Davis at Georgia before a reunion in Philadelphia and is proud of what his “big brother” has been able to do.

“If you can’t tell, that boy look good,” Smith said. “He’s looking slim, he’s running around, he’s doing box drills like it’s nothing. Box drills, really, I told him it’s like a linebacker drill. … I couldn’t be more proud of him, because it’s not an easy drill.”

Hurtt believes he’s got something special in Davis and the goal is to dig deep and find it.

“You never know what you have in your body unless you push yourself to your limits and that’s the part that I’m challenging him on right now and really the whole group. But especially him,” Hurtt said. “Because the longer he can play, he can be on the field, he can do some things to help us be successful.”

“I’ll be able to answer the call,” Davis said. “I know what’s required of me, I know Vic is leaning on me, I know the D-line is leaning on us, so I’ll definitely be able to handle that. That’s what I’m working for.”

MORE NFL: Eagles Could Sign Ex-Chiefs Star To Bolster Defense In Free Agency

Add us as a preferred source on Google