Checking in on the 2022 Draft Class
Things are still moving really fast and one day blurs into another, and that’s just the reality for the Eagles’ 2022 Draft Class. They all knew it coming in, had heard it from friends who have been in the league, but to experience it firsthand is something entirely different.
“It’s not just trying to get better on the field, it’s working on improving yourself off the field every day,” said linebacker and third-round draft choice Nakobe Dean. “You are constantly challenged and you have to respond to that challenge. I love it. Every bit of it is exactly what I wanted, because when you want to be your greatest, you embrace that challenge.”
A valuable lesson he’s learned as an NFL rookie?
“Taxes,” Dean said. “Man, that’s something that, no matter what anybody tells you, the first time you see it, you’re like, ‘What?’ But, hey, that’s part of the learning process.”
It all goes hand in hand because this is uncharted territory for the Draft Class. They’re contributing to the team’s 4-0 success on the field and they’re learning what life is like in the National Football League.
DT Jordan Davis, first round
“Be where your feet are,” Jordan Davis said. “That’s what I’m doing. Every day it’s something new, so don’t get ahead of anything and just keep pushing. It’s all going to come together. I have that confidence.”
The first-round draft pick has started two games and has played 84 defensive snaps, 33 percent of the defensive action. Davis admits he hasn’t yet been “able to sit back and take a deep breath, but I will in the offseason. Then I’ll take a deep breath and reflect and just enjoy it.”
Between now and then, there is much work to do. Davis is part of a five-man tackle rotation, and it just works. For Davis. For the defensive tackle room. For the defense.
“I would say it’s perfect. It’s similar to Georgia,” Davis said. “We rotated a lot at Georgia. I had my role there and I have my role here. I’m grateful for that role – plug up the middle, do what I can. But it’s not about how many reps you get. It’s about what you do with those reps. Whether I play one snap or 50 or 60, it’s about what you do when you’re out there and that’s the mindset that we all have in our room.”
He’s improving every day, as we saw on Sunday when Davis had four tackles, including one for a loss. This is all working out exactly as the Eagles, and Davis, hoped it would.
“Right now, we’re soaring and we have to keep at it, keep improving, and finding ways to win,” he said. “For me, it’s a dream come true, and I’m living it every day.”
