Jaguars go all in, trade for Eagles DT Jordan Davis

Jacksonville had already made 2 trades for defenders by Monday afternoon. Then it made the big one.

Adam Schefter

@AdamSchefter

Blockbuster: the Jaguars are trading a 2027 first-round pick and a 2029 second-round pick to the Eagles for defensive tackle Jordan Davis, sources tell ESPN. This is the Jaguars’ third trade for a defensive player today while the Eagles now are poised to have 10 picks in the first two rounds of the next three drafts.

For context, earlier in the day the Jaguars sent a 2nd and a 5th to Atlanta for safety Jessie Bates and a 6th to New Orleans for defensive tackle Davon Godchaux. This is a 6-2 team that lost safety Eric Murray and nose tackle DaVon Hamilton to season-ending injuries, and it replaced both in 1 afternoon. Within a few minutes every insider on the timeline had said the same 2 words: all in.

The Philadelphia side was a draft-capital story right away. Davis gets them Jacksonville's 2027 1st and 2029 2nd. That stacks on the Patriots' 2028 1st from the A.J. Brown deal and the Ravens' 2028 2nd from the Cam Jurgens deal. Here's the full board:

Mike Garafolo

@MikeGarafolo

The #Eagles now have: Two 2027 first-round picks Two 2028 first-round picks Two 2028 second-round picks Two 2029 second-round picks The #Jaguars, meanwhile, are all in on the present.

It's a strange spot for Davis. He was Philly's 2022 1st-rounder and a current team captain, and he signed a 3-year, $78 million extension only 8 months ago. The tell was a different defensive tackle. The Eagles had been turning down offers for Moro Ojomo all week.

Albert Breer

@AlbertBreer

Sources: The Jaguars are trading for Eagles DT Jordan Davis. Terms ... • Jaguars get: DT Jordan Davis. • Eagles get: 2027 first-round pick, 2029 second-round pick. Philly has rebuffed strong offers for Moro Ojomo, told teams they plan to extend him. This is the other shoe.

The Philly beat had a scheme angle too. Davis has always been a run-stuffing 3-4 nose tackle, and that's exactly what Vic Fangio's front wants. Fangio's future is a real question, though, and moving Davis keeps the Eagles' options open if the next coordinator wants a different look up front.

Jeff McLane

@Jeff_McLane

To me, the Jordan Davis trade signals that the #Eagles are not only moving on from a highly-paid DT who is underperforming, and allows them to work on bringing back DT Moro Ojomo next season, but it allows them more scheme flexibility if DC Vic Fangio is to retire in the offseason. Davis’ strength was as a run defending 3-4 NT in Fangio’s 1–1/2-gap scheme. If the Eagles were to, say, bring back Jim Schwartz as DC and 4-3 wide 9 front, Davis wouldn’t be a fit.

Jeff McLane

@Jeff_McLane

#Eagles are sending DT Jordan Davis to the Jaguars for a 2027 1st round draft pick and a 2029 2d round draft pick, an NFL source confirmed @AdamSchefter report. Eights months after Davis signed a 3-year, $78M contact extension, the Eagles are moving on from their 2022 first rounder and a current team captain.

Then there's the production. Davis had 31 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 3 QB hits through 9 games this season, which isn't what you expect from a guy on that contract. Still, the deal Jacksonville takes on isn't an albatross.

Jeremy Fowler

@JFowlerESPN

Few things to consider on Jordan Davis deal: *Jags pay for quality player and contract. Owe reasonable $18.9M-$26M-$26M from 27-29 w/ no signing bonus. *Eagles value Moro Ojomo, who had trade interest. Paying him long term with Jalen Carter and Davis on books difficult. Now, easier.

Philly's math is simple from here. Ojomo is in the last year of his deal, and Jalen Carter was extended in the offseason. Paying 3 defensive tackles was never going to work, so the Eagles cashed in the one with the biggest contract and got a 1st for him. Breer said it plainly: nobody saw them getting a 1st for Davis.

Zoom out and it fits how this whole deadline has gone. Teams aren't just trading more players, they're trading real picks for them, and the record books show it.

Adam Schefter

@AdamSchefter

Here’s how the NFL trade deadline has changed: it’s not just the quantity of deals, it’s the quality of them. As of the Jordan Davis trade, there now have been eight first- or second-round picks traded during this season, the most in a season since at least 1990.

By Monday night Jacksonville had moved past the price and onto the fit. Davis isn't coming to rack up sacks. He's coming to fill the Hamilton role: eat blocks on 1st and 2nd down so a blitz-heavy defense gets to 3rd-and-long, where it can disguise coverages and wait for the QB to make a mistake.

John Shipley

@_John_Shipley

The entire scheme, imo, is about getting to third down and using blitzes and disguised coverages to force mistakes from the QB. To get there, though, you need to win on first and second down. Davon Hamilton was the defense’s most important player for a reason!

By Tuesday morning the trade had changed what everyone expected for the final hours before the deadline. If a 1st-round pick is the going rate for a run-stopping nose tackle, every seller in the league just got more expensive.

Mike Garafolo

@MikeGarafolo

From @gmfb on the Jordan Davis trade quickly changing expectations for trade returns on the last day before the deadline. Even heard

The deadline hits Tuesday, so there's still time for more. The things to watch next are whether Philly actually gets the Ojomo extension done, whether Fangio is back in 2027, and whether 3 new defenders in 1 day turn a 6-2 Jacksonville team into a real contender. Either way, the Jaguars spent their future on this season, and the Eagles now have 10 premium picks to show for it.