Imposter No More: Eagles' Jordan Davis Is Ready To Breakout

It’s a spring tradition, unlike any other in the Delaware Valley – gauging the shape of a 6-foot-6, 336-pound man whose main job description is to take on other 300-pounders so his defensive teammates can flow to the football unfettered.

That’s the life Jordan Davis has chosen, and one that comes with the added expectations of a 2022 No. 13 overall pick draft pedigree.

Conditioning for an NFL nose tackle is a heck of a lot different than a wide receiver or defensive back, but it’s fair to point to Davis’ playing shape because he has acknowledged it needed to get better at times over his first three seasons.

The always blunt Vic Fangio opened that door again on Tuesday before an OTA practice when lauding Davis’ stellar play down the stretch run en route to a Super Bowl LIX championship last season.

“Jordan last year, I would say the last seven or eight games including the playoffs, played very well down the stretch,” the veteran defensive coordinator assessed. “ I think that's carried over into this offseason and I anticipate it carrying over into the season. I think he's in the best shape that he's ever been in, which he kind of got into late in the season last year and he's carried it over, so I think he's going to do very well for us this year.”

Ostensibly a compliment, the idea that it took Davis, 25,  until late in the season to get to that conditioning level was an eye-opener.

“We could be here a long time for that,” Fangio smiled when asked why it took so long. “For some guys it takes time, but I'm ducking that question.”

Davis wasn’t ducking anything.

The secret to his success came with an endorsement.

“I fell in love with Peloton,” the big man said while noting Ally Love was his favorite instructor.

“I felt that was completely necessary for me to reach that next level, reach that next step,” Davis continued. “Just putting in a little sweat equity, a little extra things, and when I did that and I was consistent with it, the trajectory for how I was playing, definitely took off and I was very proud of myself. And that's one thing that I decided to keep on doing because I think last year, coming into the offseason -- I understood it, but I didn't practice it."

There was some vanity involved as well.

"I wanted to look sexy,” Davis joked. “ I felt like my face was getting a little fat and you know, I wanted to look good.”

Teammates gravitate toward Davis because his playful personality can pivot back toward leadership on a dime.  He's relatable but professional.

“Knowing the team is relying on me, knowing that the team has a lot of trust in me, and they expect me to be there in the big moments. I felt like any time that we have a chance to be on the field, I should be at my best,” said Davis. “That's just something I have to continue to keep doing and I have to be ready. I have to stay ready."

Davis then intimated the consistency with that mindset hasn’t necessarily always been there with his conditioning, sparking a discipline mantra in 2025. 

"My word of the year for 2025 was discipline, and discipline is just having a strength to do it, even when you don't feel like doing it,” said Davis. “Knowing that at the ripe age of 25 -- I'm the oldest guy in the room. That's just another thing. I have younger guys looking at me. I have a room to kind of continue on, being great with. It's just all of those things, just becoming a better pro. 

“I say that a lot, but really understanding what it is."

The rare athlete who can show his vulnerability, Davis has referenced “impostor syndrome" in the past, a psychological pattern characterized by feelings of self-doubt and fear of being exposed despite evidence of competence and success.

"Having self doubts. It's still in the back of my mind sometimes. I'm human,” he admitted. “...  At the end of the day, harder work and better preparation eliminate those self doubts. As I kinda went through this last year, started earning that a little bit more. Just kind of being more present with yourself, understanding myself, understanding who I am as a person, that translates to the X's and O's side of football. 

“Doing that self work, that helped out a lot. And that's something you continue building."

The added conditioning may help Davis expand his skill set from run-stuffer to a pass-rushing threat, an end game that could spark a massive extension down the road.