Jordan Davis’ Leadership Qualities On Full Display With First Captain Selection

Jordan Davis has quickly and quietly become one of the top players on the Philadelphia Eagles and has now shifted into a role that goes beyond just putting up stats.

The late 2010s and early 2020s Eagles squad saw the start of recent success for Philadelphia’s franchise. The previous season saw mediocre and overall disappointing performances from the Eagles following Andy Reid’s firing in 2012.

Reid built up the Eagles’ culture to the highest point it’s been in the franchise’s history, leading them to nine trips to the postseason apperances, including six NFC East division titles and even five apperances in NFC Championship Games, one of them resulting in a Super Bowl appearance as well.

However, all of that success, all of that building up to one of the top ran teams in the NFL, never felt complete, mainly due to not winning the Super Bowl, but also due to the downward spiral the team took in the years following Reid’s departure.

Chip Kelly was brought in and instantly set the team back years, depleting the Eagles roster of its still valuable talent and bringing in players who were not up to par with the rest of the league. The Eagles eventually moved on from Kelly, but they had their work cut out for them.

In came Doug Pederson, and he had his work cut out for him right away. He had a rookie quarterback, Carson Wentz, at the helm, no real difference-making playmakers on offense, and questions with a defensive unit that had little to no depth.

The one shining star of this team was their leadership core that was as strong as ever. Jason Kelce, Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Malcolm Jenkins and Lane Johnson were the leaders of the team, helping smooth the transition from Kelly to Pederson.

Their leadership was so effective that in just Pederson’s second season, they helped lead the Eagles to their first Super Bowl win in franchise history, with a backup quarterback and a far-from-deep roster. A team labeled the underdogs, who, as the No. 1 seed in the conference, were not favored to win any of the three playoff games they played

A big reason was that Pederson was able to cause such a quick turnaround and lead Philadelphia to their first title was that he walked into a building of motivated men led by veterans who knew what it took to unite the team together

Years later, when Pederson was eventually let go, Philadelphia brought in Nick Sirianni as the next head coach, with four of those five captains still on the team. The Eagles franchise took their lessons from the years prior with Pederson and made Sirianni’s job easy, helping the first-time head coach make the playoffs in year one, and since then make two Super Bowls, winning one.

As years have gone by, so have the core four Eagles leaders, with Kelce and Cox retiring in 2023, and Graham once after the 2024 season, and while not officially announced a second time, he won’t return to the Eagles for 2026 as of now. Johnson remains with the team, but he announced earlier this summer that 2026 is likely to be his last, so where does that

Jalen Hurts has always gravitated towards that leadership role, as has left tackle Jordan Mailata, two players who surprisingly are some of the Eagles’ longest-tenured. However, a new name has popped up in the leadership department this offseason and training camp, and because of it, he’s been named a captain for the first time in his career.

I’m, of course, referring to defensive tackle Jordan Davis. Davis, a former first-round pick by Philadelphia, is heading into year five with the team and is here for the foreseeable future, as he signed a three-year, $78 million contract extension this past offseason.

Now tied to Philadelphia for the next four seasons, Davis has shifted into a bigger, more vocal role for the defense during meetings and walkthroughs. Davis’ new role has been on big display and has been noticed by more than just players and coaches, as NBC Sports Philadelphia analyst Ryan Fowler tweeted out Friday that “multiple individuals simply cannot say enough good things about the way he’s embraced that responsibility.

Davis was recently on the “Takeoff with John Clark” podcast, and he spoke about how past leadership has driven him to fill that role heading into 2026.

“Rent is due every day. I’m in year five; it’s time for me to start getting to that point. I looked at BG (Brandon Graham) a lot and how he led. Making everybody feel included, making everybody feel welcome. Always keeping a smile on his face. Just keep the torch going.”

“Rent is due every day. I’m in year five, it’s time for me to start getting to that point. I looked at BG a lot and how he led. Making everybody feel included, making everybody feel welcome. Always keeping a smile on his face. Just keep the torch going “

Jordan Davis has been… pic.twitter.com/zVSOVRNVwH

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) September 4, 2026

Graham was the de facto captain of the Eagles for the past decade, improving his game season after season, eventually becoming a superstar for this franchise. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Graham, as many critics ridiculed him for years due to his poor first few seasons of play.

Davis suffered similar ridicule from spectators, with his weight and lack of eye-popping stat-sheet numbers. While it wasn’t a lie to say that there were issues with Davis, he battled back and worked his butt off to improve his game, posting his best season in 2026 and being rewarded handsomely with a contract extension.

With his future set in the “City of Brotherly Love,” Davis is keeping the culture of Eagles football at its peak, hoping to inspire the generation after him to continue doing the same.

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