Just like old times: Davis and Dean take 1st NFL step together

Jordan Davis grew a sheepish grin.

“I don’t want to put our business out there,” the Eagles’ jolly giant said after his first NFL preseason game.

Then he put their business out there.

Davis and Nakobe Dean, who were both drafted by the Eagles out of Georgia this spring, coordinated their arrival times at Lincoln Financial Field on Friday evening. They wanted to walk in together.

Two of the key pieces of one of the best college football defenses ever assembled are also very good friends. And it was special for them to be able to play in their first NFL game together.

That wasn’t lost on either of them.

“It gave me first day of school vibes,” Davis said. “We try to do everything together. That’s my guy. Obviously, y’all know that. I love that man to death. Just to be able to share this moment and experience with him is pretty amazing.”

The Eagles traded up in the first round to No. 13 overall to draft Davis. A couple rounds later, they used a third-round pick on Dean, whom many have called the steal of the draft.

And on Friday night, in the 24-21 loss to the Jets, the two close friends took the field together. Heck, on one particular play, Davis blew up a run and Dean came along to clean it up.

It felt like old times.

“We definitely have special chemistry,” Dean said. “We know what makes each other go. We already know what makes each other tick. We already money, so it’s easier with him. We know how to push each other, we know how to hold each other accountable on a different level because we already kind of know each other.”

After a relatively slow start to his training camp, Dean was very active in game action. The linebacker had five tackles in his preseason debut and four of them were solo tackles.

Davis, meanwhile, didn’t even make it on the stat sheet. But the nose tackle was at times dominating and definitely freed up his teammates to make plays.

“Obviously, if I have a double team, I know somebody is going to have a 1-on-1,” Davis said. “Just to be able to do that and take that load for the team, that’s what I like to do. I like to be a selfless player. It’s not all about stats. In the league, it’s about getting those production points but it’s a little more things that go with the game. If you got a double team, it’s freeing up other guys.

“I always say, ‘two on me, somebody’s free.’ I definitely think that’s something we can look forward to in the future.”

Dean said before and after Friday’s game, he took a few moments to enjoy the moment of his first NFL preseason game. He appreciated making it this far in his football journey, realizing that he’s already accomplished a lot but is just scratching the surface.

When asked about the area he’s grown the most since coming to Philly, Dean didn’t pick anything on the field. He said he’s improved his personability. Coming from Mississippi and then playing college football in Georgia, this is Dean’s first time really getting out of the south for an extended time. Because of that, he’s met different types of people with different ways of thinking. He feels like he’s growing as a man.

Dean is coming out of his shell quicker in Philly than he did when he arrived at Georgia too. A lot of that probably has something to do with having his good friend Davis along on the ride with him.

As Davis chatted to reporters on Friday night, Dean walked by, said a few words and gave his buddy a smile.

“It’s just like old days,” Davis said. “You’re accustomed to seeing Nakobe fly around and making plays. Definitely, he’s going to excel at this level, he’s going to learn, he’s going to get his feet up under him. Just to see him do that and have us possibly become a 1-2 tandem, it would be an amazing feat that we could carry from college.”

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