Eagles’ Tyler Steen Inspired by His Grandfather's Heroics

The third-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles comes from a military family, and his grandfather posthumously received the Medal of Honor for saving his men in Vietnam

PHILADELPHIA – Tyler Steen knows firsthand the meaning of sacrifice.

His grandfather, Rodney M. Davis, posthumously received the Medal of Honor for jumping on a grenade to save his compatriots in the Vietnam War.

“My grandfather is a great inspiration to me,” said Steen, the first of two third-round draft picks by the Philadelphia Eagles in last weekend’s NFL draft.

“He sacrificed his life. He was selfless. Knowing about that and learning about that as I grew up, that obviously had a huge impact on my life, and the fact that he died for his country, I take great honor in that.”

Davis joined the Marine Corps in 1961 and was sent to Vietnam in 1967. He wasn’t there long when, on Sept. 7, his company was attacked by enemies.

“When Davis's platoon retreated into a trench, Davis ran up and down his company's line and encouraged the men to fight, returning fire at the same time,” according to Wikipedia. “When an enemy grenade came close to several men, Davis jumped on the grenade, saving his men's lives.”

Davis was 25 at the time.

Steen’s father, Daris, was also a Marine. He played football at LSU.

“Growing up in a military-based family, obviously there's still a lot of discipline and things like that, and I think that honestly prepared me to enter college football and go to Alabama, and I think it's prepared me to enter the NFL,” Steen said. 

The Eagles picked Steen with the 65th overall pick and followed that by selecting safety Sydney Brown with the 66th pick.

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni isn’t committing to anyone playing right guard yet, as the search for Isaac Seumalo’s replacement begins this weekend when the draft picks, the undrafted free agents, and other hopefuls report for rookie camp.

The Eagles have not yet released their undrafted free-agent signings or who will be in attendance.

Steen is expected to be there, and he will get his chance to make a first impression, just like Cam Jurgens did last year when he was drafted in the second round.

Jurgens and Steen, and maybe Jack Driscoll, are expected to compete for the starting job.

“Obviously we want to get him here and work with him and see what will happen next week at rookie mini-camp and get him in the building," Sirianni said. "But we think he has good flexibility. He's been able to play, and we feel like he can play both positions, and we'll see what happens.”

Steen is 6-6 and 321 pounds and was forged in the fires of the SEC, first at Vanderbilt then at Alabama. He started at left tackle for the Crimson Tide.

“Playing left tackle for the University of Alabama, obviously that's a high-profile position,” said general manager Howie Roseman. “There have been a lot of NFL players play that position, and you watch him play tackle and he's had success there.

“Then he moved at the Senior Bowl; he played guard. You could see him moving people off the ball, you could see his athleticism in space.”

Eagles offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland will see it up close very soon, and Steen is looking forward to that as well as working with some of the game’s best o-linemen such as center Jason Kelce and right tackle Lane Johnson.

“I know they've got a great coach over there with the Eagles,” Steen said. “I know they've got some really good players across the offensive line, one of the best offensive lines in the NFL, and it's a great honor to be a part of that, get the opportunity to be a part of that.

“I know coach Stoutland is an incredible coach. I know he's got a lot of respect across the country. I can't wait. I can't wait to be a part of that.”

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Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.

Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.

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