PHILADELPHIA − Sure, Eagles rookies Jordan Davis, Cam Jurgens and Nakobe Dean could have been playing on a regular basis on another team that’s not in the playoffs instead of playing little, if at all, this season with the Eagles.
But there’s a purpose for the first three Eagles draft picks last spring, even if it might not be apparent on the football field. At least not yet.
It’s an education that will benefit the three players next season, when they’re expected to take over for established veterans at their positions, not to mention the possibility of winning a Super Bowl as a rookie.
“That’s the ultimate dream,” Davis said, “winning the Super Bowl. It doesn’t matter how you do it.”
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But for now, as the Eagles prepare for their NFC Divisional Round game against the Giants on Saturday night, they’ll have to learn by mostly watching.
Davis, the Eagles’ first-round pick at defensive tackle, has played just 17% of the snaps this season, including four games missed with a sprained ankle. He’s behind four veterans with multiple Pro Bowl selections in Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh.
And his playing time has decreased since returning from his ankle injury.
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Jurgens, the second-rounder at center, is behind Jason Kelce, who’s 35 years old and was named All Pro for the fifth time in his likely Hall of Fame career. Jurgens has played just 35 snaps overall, or 3%, mostly late in lopsided games.
It’s the same for Dean, the third-rounder at linebacker, who’s behind veteran starters T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White. He has played just 34 snaps.
But what they’re learning this season has been invaluable, to the point where they said they’ll be further along than if they were playing regularly on a bad team that isn’t in the playoffs.
“I think I’m in a great situation being in the room with the guys that we have and (offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland) and Coach Roy (Istvan),” Jurgens said. “They coach me like they coach Kelce. … I’m so much further along now, especially recognizing defenses and pressures, and learning that stuff.”
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Added Davis: “There’s not one bad person on this team, in my opinion. We’re all pulling for each other. We all have a certain type of love for each other. So just having that experience, I’m not complaining at all.”
Ironically, it’s an undrafted free agent in safety Reed Blankenship who has played the most among the rookie class. The class also includes sixth-round picks in tight end Grant Calcaterra and linebacker Kyron Johnson, in addition to undrafted cornerback Josh Jobe.
Blankenship has played 26% of the snaps overall, but that includes the first 10 games when he played a total of two snaps. Since then, Blankenship, filling in while Chauncey Gardner-Johnson was on injured reserve, has started four games. He played every snap once and at least 95% of the snaps in two other games.
Gardner-Johnson returned Jan. 8 against the Giants. But even then, Blankenship played 71% of the snaps as Gardner-Johnson switched between safety in base packages and nickel for the injured Avonte Maddox.
“I’ve learned a ton from (Gardner-Johnson) and Marcus (Epps), both when I wasn’t playing and now that I am playing,” Blankenship said. “Those guys helped me get ready for this moment, and I’m still learning as we go.”
The others are learning, too.
For Davis, that means how to approach a playoff week, which he said is “totally different” from when he was at Georgia taking part in the College Football Playoffs. The Bulldogs won the national championship in Davis’ and Dean’s final season in 2021.
“There’s definitely a different intensity of playing a team a third time (like the Giants), which is crazy to me,” Davis said. “The playoffs are a different feeling, just being how rare it is. If you’re on a team in college football, you can expect to be in whatever bowl game you’re going to get.
“If you’re here in the NFL, getting here is a lot harder. And once you’re in, you can win a game or lose a game at any time. It’s definitely a hunker-down, put on your boot-straps approach.”
For Dean, it means learning “how the league works, and how different people think, different coaches think and different players think.”
For Jurgens, it’s the wealth of knowledge he is getting from Kelce.
“I’ll come over to Kelce on the sideline, and be like, ‘Hey, (the other team) ran four to a side to the right, and I don’t know what they’re doing there,'” Jurgens said. “And he’ll be like, ‘One thing, you look at the post safety and see them fly back, and that’s an indicator.’ Then he’ll tell me three different indicators depending on what defense they’re running.
“For him, it’s more of a feel thing because he’s been doing it for so long. It’s a quick reaction for him. I’m still looking, learning and trying to get to that point.”
The Eagles need them to get there. Maybe not during this playoff run, but certainly when next season begins.
That’s because at defensive tackle, the four players ahead of Davis are all in the final year of their contracts. Even if two return next season, that leaves Davis and Milton Williams (third-round pick in 2021) as major parts of the rotation.
At center, Kelce has contemplated retirement in each of the past four offseasons. Even if Kelce returns, right guard Isaac Seumalo is in the last season of his contract and he could end up pricing himself out of Philadelphia. Jurgens has been cross-training at right guard this season, too.
As for linebacker, both Edwards and White are in the last year of their contracts, and it’s likely that only one will return.
So Davis said he learns from veterans like Cox and Hargrave, along with Suh and Joseph. But also from the defensive ends in Brandon Graham and Robert Quinn, who has 102 sacks over his 12-year career.
“I think if he realizes how dominant he can be because of his size and how athletic he is, he can be a one-of-a-kind player,” Quinn said. “I tell him it might be frustrating, but when your number is called, you gotta be ready. We got a great D-line from top to bottom. We all play our limited amount of reps, and we try to make the most out of them.”
So do Jurgens and Dean with their fellow veterans and position coaches.
“I think it’s great when your best leaders on the team are the best workers on the team,” Jurgens said. “Kelce and (right tackle) Lane (Johnson) are always working their ass off. If you see that from your best players, that they’re the hardest workers, that’s the best thing you can have.”
Hurts, Lane Johnson are playing
Quarterback Jalen Hurts wasn’t on the injury report all week, a clear sign that he won’t have any restrictions on him because of his shoulder. Hurts suffered the injury Dec. 18 and didn’t play the next two games. He returned Jan. 8 against the Giants, but the Eagles limited his running so he wouldn’t get hit on his shoulder.
In addition, Lane Johnson who has a torn adductor in his groin, was a full participant in practice Thursday and was cleared to play. Johnson missed the last two regular-season games.
The only player who won’t play against the Giants is cornerback Avonte Maddox, who’s missing his third straight game with a toe injury.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
