Jaguars trade a 2027 first-round pick for Eagles tackle Jordan Davis

The Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday sent a 2027 first-round pick and a 2029 second-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for defensive tackle Jordan Davis, the biggest of three defensive trades the team made in a single day, ESPN reported.

The deal shows how far a 6-2 team will go to win now. Jacksonville has not earned home-field advantage in the AFC since its 14-2 season in 1999, Pro Football Rumors noted, and the club is now spending future picks to chase it before the NFL's trade deadline at 4 p.m. ET Tuesday.

Davis fills the biggest hole on the roster. Nose tackle DaVon Hamilton suffered a season-ending quad injury in the Week 8 win over the Indianapolis Colts. Hamilton was the key to a run defense that ranked first in the league at the time. In the first game without him, Thursday against the Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville allowed 172 yards on the ground.

General manager James Gladstone described the 26-year-old as a complete player. "Jordan's impact on the field can be felt on every down," Gladstone said.

The Eagles drafted Davis 13th overall in 2022 out of Georgia, 12 spots after his college teammate Travon Walker, who now plays defensive end for Jacksonville. At 6-foot-6 and 336 pounds, Davis has 193 tackles, 17 of them for loss, and 9.5 sacks in four-plus seasons. He has started every game over the past four years, missing time only during a four-game stint on injured reserve as a rookie, according to Pro Football Rumors.

Jacksonville also takes on a large contract. Philadelphia signed Davis to a three-year, $78 million extension in March with $64.4 million guaranteed, and the new deal begins after the 2026 season. At signing, the deal made him the highest-paid pure nose tackle in the league, and the contract runs through the 2029 season. Davis started for Philadelphia in both its Super Bowl LVII and Super Bowl LIX appearances, and he arrived in the league with rare speed for his size, running the 40-yard dash in 4.78 seconds at 341 pounds.

The Jaguars are buying a player coming off his best year rather than his best form. In 2025 Davis set career highs with 4.5 sacks, nine tackles for loss and 72 tackles. This season has been quieter, with 1.5 sacks and 31 tackles through nine games. His share of defensive snaps fell from 62% last season to 52%, and he has dealt with an ankle injury and has been playing through a hand problem.

The trade capped a busy Monday. Jacksonville first sent the Atlanta Falcons a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 fifth-rounder for safety Jessie Bates III, then sent a conditional 2028 sixth-round pick to the New Orleans Saints for defensive tackle Davon Godchaux. Bates, 29, is in the final year of a four-year, $64 million contract and replaces injured starter Eric Murray, who will miss the rest of the season with an elbow injury. A Pro Bowl pick in 2023, he has 28 career interceptions, joining a defense that ranks 22nd against the pass but leads the league with a plus-9 turnover ratio. Godchaux, who turns 32 on Wednesday, is in the last season of an $11 million deal and will join the line rotation. Across the three deals, the Jaguars have given up their 2027 first- and second-round picks, a year after trading their 2026 first-rounder to the Cleveland Browns to move up for Travis Hunter.

For Philadelphia, the deal is a reset. The Eagles are 2-7 and have lost seven straight games. They now hold 10 picks in the first two rounds of the next three drafts. The move carries a cost on their books. The Eagles take on only a small dead-money charge this season, but the 2027 bill from Davis' early exit will be far larger, according to OverTheCap figures cited by Pro Football Rumors.

The trade also frees the Eagles to focus on Moro Ojomo, a defensive tackle in the final year of his rookie deal whom they had told teams they would not trade. Philadelphia can now pursue an extension with Ojomo, who will line up next to Jalen Carter, signed this summer to a four-year, $152 million extension.

Davis can make his Jacksonville debut once the trade deadline passes Tuesday afternoon, with the Jaguars chasing the top seed in a crowded AFC. More coverage is in the Sports Sector.