The Philadelphia Eagles made one of the biggest moves of the NFL trade deadline, trading star defensive tackle Jordan Davis to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 2027 first-round pick and a 2029 second-round pick.

The trade gives Jacksonville (6-2) another big boost on defense after acquiring safety Jessie Bates III and defensive tackle Davon Godchaux that same day. However, the huge return has caught many by surprise, including former Eagles linebacker Emmanuel Acho, who praised GM Howie Roseman for getting such a strong deal for Davis.

Emmanuel Acho Calls Jordan Davis Trade the Best of Eagles GM Howie Roseman’s Career

Philadelphia, sitting at 2-7 and expected to be without quarterback Jalen Hurts for the remainder of the season, has another opportunity to stockpile valuable draft capital.

Speaking on the Speakeasy podcast, Acho couldn’t hide his disbelief at the compensation Roseman managed to secure for Davis.

“This is Howie Roseman’s greatest trade of his career. I can’t believe Howie did this. I can’t believe Howie pulled this one off. Howie just robbed all of Duval. Howie robbed all of them, bro,” Acho said.

“Jordan Davis, remember, had one great season, had a good season, and then had two and a half mediocre seasons. Jordan Davis, 16 months ago, just 16 months ago, was perceived by many to be a bust,” he added.

Acho also questioned Davis’ value on passing downs, explaining, “Jordan Davis is really only a two-down player, a first- and second-down player, because on third downs, you’re getting him off the field to bring on a pass rusher.”

A look at Davis’ snap distribution in obvious passing situations helps explain the point Acho was making. On third and fourth downs with at least four yards to go and five or more defensive backs on the field, Davis has rarely been a regular part of Philadelphia’s defensive personnel.

He played just four of 186 such snaps (2.2%) in 2022 and 19 of 188 (10.1%) in 2023. His involvement fell to six of 208 snaps (2.9%) in 2024 before rising to 33 of 161 (20.5%) in 2025. This season, he has played 10 of 92 snaps (10.9%) in those situations.

Across the five seasons, Davis appeared in just 72 of 835 obvious passing-down opportunities, accounting for 8.6% of the total, according to snap data compiled by Deniz Selman. He recorded 1.5 sacks and six pressures on those snaps.

Acho, however, believes Roseman managed to turn that body of work into a return that far exceeded what the defensive tackle was worth.

“This is Howie Roseman’s greatest trade of his career. I’ve never seen a swindler like Howie swindle as magnificently as he just did today because he quite literally robbed all of Jacksonville in this one move. Incredible move by Howie,” Acho concluded.

Former ESPN analyst and longtime NFL executive Joe Banner also agreed that Jacksonville paid a hefty price for the defensive tackle. “The facts. This is a wild trade,” Banner said.

The defensive tackle recorded 31 combined tackles, including 11 solo tackles and 20 assists, along with 1.5 sacks and one pass defensed through nine games in the 2026 season. He currently ranks 40th in PFN’s Defensive Tackle Impact Score with a grade of 75.8.

Jacksonville has clearly made a substantial investment in strengthening its defensive front ahead of a potential playoff run. Davis brings an experienced presence to a defense built for a potential playoff run, while the Eagles receive two valuable picks to help reshape their roster.