This is the model the Eagles follow as often as possible, with spectacular results: Draft well, develop players, sign as many of those players as possible to second and sometimes third contracts.
In the instance of defensive tackle Jordan Davis, a first-round draft pick in the spring of 2022, the practice followed the model perfectly. Davis, after a terrific career at Georgia, was projected to be a top first-round selection that year, and the Eagles had their eyes on him for obvious reasons: He was big, fast, strong, and a play-to-play disrupter in the trenches.
Davis won the Chuck Bednarik Award (best defensive player) and the Outland Trophy (most outstanding interior lineman) and was voted to the first-team AP All-American squad after a final collegiate season during which he registered 32 total tackles, 5 ½ tackles for loss and two quarterback sacks. Davis helped Georgia win the National Championship and then turned heads with a phenomenal performance at the Scouting Combine.
Philadelphia considered him a "top 10 talent," in the draft. The challenge was: Was there any chance he could be there when the Eagles pick No. 15 in Round 1?
Turned out, it was close enough. When Howie Roseman had an opportunity to move up on that Thursday night, from 15 to No. 13 overall, he did just that and pounced on Davis.
Here we are, in 2026, and Davis was a top-of-the-list move for Roseman in the offseason after his four seasons as an Eagle. Prior to the official start of free agency, Davis signed a contract extension through the 2029 season, and Roseman couldn't be happier for the move.
"It's always been about drafting well, re-signing our good players, as many of them as we are able to sign, and when you see a guy like Jordan, with all the work he's put in throughout his journey, how he continues to improve as a player and as a person, it is a great tribute to who he is," Roseman said prior to his trip to Arizona for the NFL Annual Meeting. "He has developed into the player and person we thought he could be when we traded up the first round of the 2022 Draft. He deserves all the credit. For our fans, no matter how well he played last year, the best is yet to come for Jordan Davis."
Davis wasn't the only 2025 Eagle to re-up with the team for 2026. Roseman kept a handful of players to add depth and competition, and in some cases, perform as top players at their position in the league.
Staying as Eagles: Tight end Dallas Goedert, punter Braden Mann, tight end Grant Calcaterra, safety Marcus Epps, and offensive tackle Fred Johnson.
"One of the greatest gifts you have when you go into free agency is knowing, having the information," Roseman said. "All of those guys are players that we have familiarity with, experience with. They have helped us achieve great success and so to be able to bring those players back – we know how they fit, without any transition, I think it's a huge benefit to our football team."
Retaining Goedert and Calcaterra continues stability in the tight end room, and Roseman also added free agents Johnny Mundt and Stone Smartt, giving the Eagles great depth and a varied look at the position.
It's intentional, Roseman said. Tight end is an ever-changing position in the NFL.
"The game has evolved at that position. You see it throughout the league in some of these offensive systems and there is a priority in having two-way players – players who can give you what you want as a blocker and also as a route runner in the passing game, who is hard to cover for linebackers and safeties and who really becomes a mismatch," Roseman said. "But you also want someone who can help you control the point of attack. What Johnny Mundt does is help us in a very important way with our run game and he can do other things too. He has experience in this system that we're evolving towards. He can accentuate the skill sets of Dallas and Grant and the others that we have in that room.
"Dallas, we think is one of the best two-way players at his position in this league, and we've seen Grant do some good things on the move and help us. We have E.J. Jenkins, who has so many skills and who is improving. We added Stone Smartt, who is an athletic guy who can win one-on-one matchups in the passing game. It is an important position and we want to implement them into our offense in a variety of ways. We want to stack that tight end room with a variety of players who complement each other. We know it is hard to find players like Dallas Goedert, who have elite skill sets in both phases. We want to give as much as we can to our coaching staff to utilize in as many ways as they possibly can."
