You don’t have to watch training camp practice for very long before you notice something very, very different.
No. 90.
There’s much less of him.
Jordan Davis lost nearly 30 pounds since last year, and it’s something he knew he had to do if he’s ever going to become the player he wants to be. The player the Eagles need him to be.
Davis said after practice Thursday the Eagles told him to report in the 330s for camp, and he said he lost 26 pounds to get to 330.
It’s pretty simple.
When you’re the 13th player taken in the draft, you can’t just be a run stuffer. You can’t be a one-dimensional player. And Davis knows it.
“I’m still the same Jordan Davis,” he said. “I’m still gonna be that anchor. I’m still gonna be that same player.
“But knowing that with this new weight, I can do a lot more. I can move a lot more on passing reps. I’m gonna be expected to do that. And that’s just what’s been communicated with me from the top down. And, honestly, I’m here for it. I’m ready for it.”
Davis played only 388 regular-season snaps last year, or about 23 per game. Down from 31 per game in 2023.
Some 58 interior linemen league-wide played a higher percentage of their team’s snaps last year than Davis. College teammate Jalen Carter played more than twice as many. Milton Williams played over 100 more.
Vic Fangio just didn’t have a reason to play Davis on passing downs.
But with Williams now in New England, there’s now an expectation that Davis will have to play significantly more snaps. Including passing downs.
As he began to lose weight late last season, Davis did finally show some ability to pressure the quarterback. After recording just one sack and one pressure in the regular season, he had two sacks and three pressures in the playoffs.
The Eagles are counting on Davis – now at 330 pounds, down from close to 360 – to become more of a three-down player. But he’s got to be effective to earn those snaps.
“It’s been communicated for me since the end of last year that they wanted me to play more snaps, especially with Milton gone,” Davis said. “And kudos to Milton, man, going out there and balling. But at the end of the day, we’ve got to work with what we have.
“And I don’t want to be a guy that’s just sitting on the shelf for third downs and sitting on the shelf for second and long. … I want to be on the field as much as I can. And whatever is required or whatever is needed of me, I want to be on the field. I don’t want to be a player that comes off every second and long, every third down, stuff like that.
“I just want to go out there and play however long that’s needed. Whatever is expected of me, I’ll be out there.”
Davis said seeing positive results on the field when he began losing weight late last year was definitely a motivation to continue shedding weight.
The trick is finding the perfect balance where he still has the strength and power to stuff the run while also having the quickness and athleticism to chase down ball carriers and attack the pocket.]
“At the end of (last) season, definitely was a lot of work being put in that was behind the scenes,” he said. “And obviously in the spring, y’all came back and y’all got a chance to see (at OTAs) how I was progressing. And this is just a continuation of it all.
“I don’t ever want to be too light. I feel like I’m completely capable at (330) to both anchor and be a pass rusher. And I just want to be like, say, a quarterback. I want to be a dual threat so I don’t want to be a one-trick pony.”
Nolan Smith, Davis’s close friend and teammate at Georgia, raved about Davis’s fitness level right now and how that has translated into a higher motor and increased endurance.
“Oh, big dog moving,” Smith said after practice Thursday. “He’s doing more reps than me right now, man. He is rolling.
“I love to see his weight, I love to see his attitude, I love to see his effort. We 100 percent feed off each other. But when I look at him and he’s not tired, I’d be like, ‘Hey, no way.’ He’s looking good. He has a great weight on him.”
We have been down this road before with Davis, so it’s fair to be a little skeptical.
His weight has gone up and down since the Eagles drafted him in the first round in 2022. But there’s a very clear link between his fitness and his production, and if he can keep the weight off, he has a chance to live up to expectations when the Eagles made him the first interior lineman taken in 2022 and the sixth defensive player.
Davis said losing weight wasn’t just a football decision, it was a life decision. “Living better, more energy, greater focus,” he said.
“Conditioning wise on the field, I feel like it takes me longer to really get tired. … It’s just allowing my body to be more fluid, allowing myself to move a little faster, my get-offs a little faster, staying low, being in a position where your back doesn’t hurt too much because you don’t have that extra weight and stuff like that.
“I just feel a lot more in tune with my body. I can’t give all my secrets away but I definitely feel more comfortable at this weight than I did in the past.
“Feel great. Feel amazing really.”
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