This is the model the Eagles follow as often as possible, with spectacular results: Draft well, develop players, sign as many of those players as possible to second and sometimes third contracts.
In the instance of defensive tackle Jordan Davis, a first-round draft pick in the spring of 2022, the practice followed the model perfectly. Davis, after a terrific career at Georgia, was projected to be a top first-round selection that year, and the Eagles had their eyes on him for obvious reasons: He was big, fast, strong, and a play-to-play disrupter in the trenches.
Davis won the Chuck Bednarik Award (best defensive player) and the Outland Trophy (most outstanding interior lineman) and was voted to the first-team AP All-American squad after a final collegiate season during which he registered 32 total tackles, 5 ½ tackles for loss and two quarterback sacks. Davis helped Georgia win the National Championship and then turned heads with a phenomenal performance at the Scouting Combine.
Philadelphia considered him a "top 10 talent," in the draft. The challenge was: Was there any chance he could be there when the Eagles pick No. 15 in Round 1?
Turned out, it was close enough. When Howie Roseman had an opportunity to move up on that Thursday night, from 15 to No. 13 overall, he did just that and pounced on Davis.
Here we are, in 2026, and Davis was a top-of-the-list move for Roseman in the offseason after his four seasons as an Eagle. Prior to the official start of free agency, Davis signed a contract extension through the 2029 season, and Roseman couldn't be happier for the move.
"It's always been about drafting well, re-signing our good players, as many of them as we are able to sign, and when you see a guy like Jordan, with all the work he's put in throughout his journey, how he continues to improve as a player and as a person, it is a great tribute to who he is," Roseman said prior to his trip to Arizona for the NFL Annual Meeting. "He has developed into the player and person we thought he could be when we traded up the first round of the 2022 Draft. He deserves all the credit. For our fans, no matter how well he played last year, the best is yet to come for Jordan Davis."