Jordan Davis has given up juice as he attempts to squeeze everything he can out of his massive frame and potential.
Davis, 24, changed his diet this offseason and has a new concentration on his conditioning as he enters Year 3 in the NFL with an expanded role in Vic Fangio’s defense.
And that takes some sacrifices.
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For Davis, that means no more Arizona beverages — his favorite as a Southerner.
“Substitute for juice?” Davis said. “Water. It ain’t no other substitute, man. It’s straight water.”
When Davis needs to get his fix, he goes to Whole Foods for a more natural, lower-calorie mango juice. That gets him through.
And it’s working. Because during the Eagles Autism Challenge earlier this month, some photos surfaced of a slimmer-looking Davis and on Thursday after an OTA practice, Davis confirmed that he has been focusing on his transforming his body. Davis has lost some weight, but he’s still a massive human at 350 pounds.
NFL
“But obviously it looks a lot better than it did last year,” Davis said. “I feel a lot better than I did last year. We just continue on. We got a plan here and we just keep on working.”
Davis is a big guy. He’s always going to be a big guy.
It’s just packaged a little different these days.
While Davis is listed at 6-foot-6, 336 pounds, he admitted that he was “a little above” 350 last year. There’s no question that Davis is looking healthier this spring and he’s hoping his new physique will help him hold up for the entire 2024 season.
His teammates have taken notice too.
“If you can’t tell, that boy look good,” edge rusher Nolan Smith said. “He nice and slim. He’s running around, he’s doing box drills like it’s nothing.”
Other than changes to his diet, the other big element of Davis’s transformation has been his conditioning. Davis in 2023 played 519 snaps but should have an expanded role on and off the field in 2024 after the retirement of Eagles great Fletcher Cox.
Davis has worked to become more active in his daily life.
“Just making minor changes to the lifestyle, being more active in my lifestyle,” Davis said. “If I had a day off, making sure I do something active, whether it’s walking outside, going outside, getting into backpacking now. Just going on little hikes and stuff like that. Just trying to be more at one with nature and stuff like that. Just little stuff to get me outside. Don’t won’t to be sedentary, don’t want to sit inside all the time when I have free time.”
Of course, this conversation with Davis is nothing new. From the moment the Eagles traded up to take him with the No. 13 pick in the 2022 draft, a big thing with Davis has been his size and maintaining a level of conditioning with it.
Davis knows his main role is always going to eat blocks and stuff the run but he’s working to improve as a pass rusher too. Early last season, he showed some promise in that area but his stats fell off a cliff in the second half of 2023.
First 7 games: 2 1/2 sacks, 5 QB hits, 2 TFLs, 1 FF
Last 10 games: 0 sacks, 0 QB hits, 0 TFLs, 0 FF
While it’s fair to point out that the entire defense pretty much collapsed in the second half of the 2023 season, Davis’s drop in production was pronounced.
“I’ll be ready to answer the call,” he said. “I know what’s required of me, I know Vic is leaning on me. I know the D-line is leaning on us. So I definitely think I’ll be able to handle it. That what I’ve been working for. Nobody is coming to save us now.”
Davis has made a lot of changes this offseason. Hopefully, the juice will be worth the squeeze.
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