Jordan Davis is an underrated DROY candidate
By: Jake Rajala
The Philadelphia Eagles traded up to select the behemoth Jordan Davis 13th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. Davis may be seen with a gifted combination of size (6’6, 340) and speed (4.78 40-time), yet it seems like he hasn’t gained enough praise to be a top-shelf DROY candidate. With that said, I’m going to untwine three reasons why the Eagles rook could win DROY next season.
Opportunities
The Lions pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson will unequivocally attract a lot of attention on a putrid Lions DL as a rookie. Meanwhile, Davis should have a lot of favorable match-ups – as he will be playing next to the superb Fletcher Cox. The NFL world witnessed Von Miller really capitalize off the opportunities he had on the Aaron Donald-led DL. I can’t wait to see teams struggle to block Davis while having a robust plan for the Eagles legend in Cox.
Big showdowns
I expect the Eagles to have a lot of success while duking it out in nail-biting contests. Davis will surely have lots of eyes on his team against the Dallas Cowboys (twice a season), Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, and Arizona Cardinals in 2022. Darius Leonard has arguably been snubbed as a DROY candidate partially because the Colts haven’t been a very impressive team. Davis can absolutely be effective and noticeable on a team that should be playoff-bound.
DT position
The DT position may not be as sexy as the edge rusher spot on defense, but it certainly has unveiled a lot of DROY winners. Ndamukong Suh, Sheldon Richardson, and Aaron Donald all won DROY. If a DT can stand out by having a plethora of sacks, they will certainly demand a ton of respect. It would be an understatement to say Davis has the explosive ability coupled with a friendly situation to be a menace against the likes of Dak Prescott and Aaron Rodgers next season.
