Philadelphia Eagles trade up to select Georgia defensive lineman Jordan Davis in 2022 NFL Draft

The Philadelphia Eagles are banking on Georgia product Jordan Davis to come in and transform their interior defensive line. He did it throughout his time in Athens, and the former Bulldogs defensive lineman will be expected to do the same in his NFL career. That’s why the Eagles traded up and took him off the board early in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft on Thursday night, picking him No. 13 overall.

The Eagles made the deal with the Houston Texans, sending the Nos. 15, 124, 162 and 166 overall picks to Houston for the No. 13 overall selection to take Davis, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

In his four seasons with the Bulldogs, Davis emerged as one of the top defensive players in the entire nation. Last season, Davis realized his dream of bringing a championship to Georgia, helping to end a drought that spanned over 40 years when the Bulldogs defeated Alabama in the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Additionally, the star defensive lineman was the recipient of the Chuck Bednarik Award, presented annually to the best defensive player in college football.

Most importantly to the Eagles, Davis has potential to become one of the top defensive lineman in the entire NFL. He was dominant at Georgia, even having a Heisman Trophy campaign gain some steam throughout last season.

Additionally, the 6-foot-6 defensive lineman put on a show at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine, prompting ESPN NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay to put him on his Mount Rushmore of combine performances. At 341 pounds, Davis running a 4.78 in the 40 Yard Dash set social media — and NFL scouting departments — ablaze.

A former four-star recruit in the class of 2018, Davis was the No. 36 defensive lineman in the nation per the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. Davis played his high school football at Mallard Creek in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he also played basketball. Unlike many of the selections in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Davis wasn’t considered a blue-chip recruit out of high school, but evolved his game as he realized his potential.

What NFL draft analysts are saying about Jordan Davis

Furthermore, Lance Zierlein of NFL.com broke down what Jordan Davis can bring to the NFL in his recent scout of the defensive lineman’s draft profile. The analyst compared the Georgia product to Haloti Ngata, a former first round defensive lineman out of Oregon who had a wildly-successful 13-year NFL career, capturing a Super Bowl and All-Pro honors throughout his time.

“Beefy, mountainous nose tackle with the size, power and will to clog the drain and alter the offense’s desire to run between the tackles,” wrote Zierlein. “Davis has anchor and quick-shed talent to eviscerate single blocks and successfully occupy double teams, allowing linebackers to thrive in pursuit of ball-carriers. He plays upright, lacking agility and reactive quickness to mark up a stat sheet with any consistency, but that’s not what he’s asked to do.

“Davis won’t be as effective against outside-zone teams and won’t offer much rush, but he could become one of the league’s best run-pluggers as soon as he takes the field.”