Aside from whether or not the Eagles will trade tight end Dallas Goedert, another question coming into the season was whether or not the team would exercise the fifth-year option on defensive tackle Jordan Davis. That question has been answered.
Fox Sports NFL Insider Jordan Schultz reported Wednesday morning that the team will indeed pick up the fifth-year option that guarantees Davis $12.9 million for the 2026 season.
Davis, who turned 25 earlier this year, enters his fourth season with the Eagles after being drafted 13th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. Coming out of Georgia as one of the top-ranked defensive tackles in the class, Davis started as a rotational piece for the defensive line before becoming a starter in 2023. In each of the last two seasons Davis has started in every regular season game including five playoff contests making it 39 consecutive starts for the defensive tackle.
The 6-foot-6, 335-pound interior defensive lineman doesn’t pop out in the stat sheet, but his presence is felt in the games, helping free up Jalen Carter to viciously get into the backfield to disrupt plays and sack the quarterbacks. Carter is coming off a strong second season coming off a career-high six sacks after he had 4.5 in his rookie campaign. A big part of Carter’s success comes from the need for offensive lines to double team him on a consistent basis.
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Despite being a solid defensive tackle who is very strong against the run, the Eagles were hopeful that they could tap into potential pass rush skill in Davis when selecting him in the first round. However, it has not panned out that way thus far. Davis has shown flashes of getting to the quarterback most notably in the playoffs. According to PFF, Davis has a 65.0 pass rusher grade during the regular season while he has posted a 90.0 grade in the postseason. He had two sacks during the team’s Super Bowl run last season.
If Davis could up his snap count per game a little more, he could be an even bigger weapon for the defense. Last season, he lined up for 388 snaps on defense, equating to 32.4% of the team’s snaps. Amongst the defensive tackles on the team, the 388 snaps were tied for the second fewest with Moro Ojomo. Thomas Booker lined up for 166, Milton Williams played 501 snaps while Carter paced the group with 831.
The $12.9 million guaranteed for Davis would put him as the 27th-highest paid interior defensive tackles currently in the NFL. With this move, Roseman and the Eagles have Davis and Carter on the books for at least the next two seasons. In turn, it could allow the team to stay ahead of the market, especially if Davis takes another step forward this season while trying to navigate the salary cap with the other young defensive studs they will need to pay down the road.
