Philadelphia Eagles rookie Jordan Davis is hardly the first NFL player to be unhappy about going viral, but his reason on Wednesday is not something you see often.
The former first-round pick wishes people would stop sharing a clip of him absolutely bulldozing a teammate on a practice rep. Specifically, he was seen pushing offensive lineman Cam Jurgens, the Eagles’ second-round pick at the 2022 NFL draft, several yards backwards on a bull rush at the Eagles’ public practice on Sunday.
Here’s the clip (with apologies to Davis for sharing it):
The clip went predictably viral. When asked how it felt to see a video of him dominating that went viral on Wednesday, Davis was honest. He hated it, via the Eagles:
“I hate it, honestly. I just feel it shows … very one-sided. You see one rep, but you don’t see Cam blocking me, getting me at practice, getting me in other reps. I always say looks can be deceiving. One rep and it goes viral, whatever, whoop-da-whoop, but Cam is holding his own. He’s a very good player and it’s just good competition. It’s iron-on-iron. You see the background of everything , but don’t let the hype get to you.”
That is a quintessential “good teammate” answer, and another reason for Eagles fans to be excited about what they have in the former Georgia star.
The Eagles drafted Davis with the 13th overall pick earlier this offseason after a decorated career with the Bulldogs. His senior year saw him win unanimous All-American honors, the Chuck Bednarik Award for college football’s top defensive player and the Outland Trophy for college football’s top interior lineman, not to mention Georgia’s first national championship since 1980.
As impressive as his college career was, it might have been his NFL combine performance that vaulted Davis into the top half of the first round. Weighing in at 341 pounds, Davis ran a 4.78 40-yard-dash, a number that would have ranked eighth among tight endsand the longest broad jump seen from a defensive lineman in 16 years.
That kind of explosion is rare from nose tackles, and the Jurgens clip handily illustrated that potential for fans. Even if Davis wishes it didn’t.