South Philly 12-year-old says goodbye to part of his ‘53-man dad squad’ in viral video to Jordan Davis
12-year-old Jack Powell went viral in his heartbreaking goodbye message to Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis.
When 12-year-old Jack Powell heard the news that the Eagles had traded defensive tackle Jordan Davis to the Jacksonville Jaguars, he immediately tossed on his kelly green jacket and made his way to the Eagles’ practice facility to say his final goodbye.
Unfortunately, it was leading into the bye week. So once Powell arrived from his South Philly home, there were no players inside the facility.
“I cried all night,” Powell said. “I cried all the tears that I could. I had nothing left to cry about. I could have filled up a whole pool.”
Instead of giving up, Powell decided to record a heartfelt message for Davis and post it onto his social media page, @jacksjourney2025. The video, which showed Powell breaking down into tears over the trade, eventually went viral — accumulating over 136,000 views and 10,000 likes.
“I just wanted to post it to see if Davis saw it or not because he follows me on Instagram,” Powell said. “I just wanted to say goodbye since, obviously, I couldn’t see him. He meant a lot to me.”
Over the last year, Powell has built a personal relationship with the former Georgia standout. He first met Davis at the Jefferson Health Training Complex following the Eagles-Rams game in which Davis blocked a field goal and return it for the walk-off touchdown.
From that moment on, they’ve shared several interactions — including Powell gifting Davis Pokémon cards, a shared interest of theirs, and a signed photo of the two of them inside the training facility.
Eagles linebacker Jalyx Hunt later told Powell he had spotted the picture inside of Davis’ locker.
“I got a picture of me and him signed by him, and he really liked it and said, ‘Hey, can you get me one of these pictures?’ And I’m like ‘Oh wow, all right, sure,’” Powell said. “I printed it out and I signed it for him, and he loved it and he said, ‘I’ll put it in my locker.’ … That’s what makes it hard. When you get so close with them and then they’re traded, you take it harder.”
Powell, who is autistic, finds it more difficult to adjust to the recent roster adjustments — like the departures of A.J. Brown, Cam Jurgens, and now Davis. They had become part of his “53-man dad squad.”
“His dad is not very much present in his life, only when he chooses to be,” said Powell’s mother, Kim Davies. “So it’s like we always joke — and the players do, too — that he’s got a 53-man dad squad with him. And I mean a lot of them give him advice, tell him about how first impressions are important, how you always need to look your best, and how to be a good person.”
Powell has met nearly the entire team. He makes his way over to the Eagles practice facility once or twice a week and waits out front as players drive by. Most players will stop the car, roll their window down, and ask how he’s doing. Others will smile and wave.
Jordan Mailata, Zack Baun, and Davis were some of the players who stopped every time.
He’s even built close relationships with some of the players’ partners, including Niki Mailata and Cam Jurgens’ fiancé, Margaret Benzing, whom he met at Chickie’s & Pete’s.
“Margaret showed up at NovaCare and gave me a whole bag of goodies,” Powell said. “She gave me a winter hat of Jurgens and a salute to service hat. She got me a very nice coat. It was really cool. … I could go on with stories upon stories, but we would be sitting here for pretty much the rest of my life.”
It’s only fitting that Powell, whose full name is Jackson, would become an Eagles superfan — he was named after his mother’s favorite player, DeSean Jackson. His fandom has grown overtime with the help of his mother and his late grandfather John, who also was known as Jack.
“Once an autistic child focuses on something, they give it their all,” Davies said. “And maybe it’s different, not every child is the same. But when Jack is focused on something, it’s everything. And that just happens to be the Philadelphia Eagles right now. … So we go over there. It makes him happy.”
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After getting bullied in school and turning to homeschooling, the relationships Powell has built with the players have become a big part of his life. And his mother is trying to do anything possible to keep a smile on his face.
“It’s more than football,” Davies said. “It’s the relationships you make and the people you meet. And I think that’s what people don’t understand. Jack knows these people, and they know him.”
And although Powell won’t see Davis drive to the facility anymore, he still wishes him the best of luck with his new team.
“I’m not going to be rooting for his team, but I’ll be rooting for him,” Powell said. “I hope he does some good things, you know? I hope he has a good little career over there. And I know we’ll be back here. And I really do miss him. Like, I wish I got to say this to his face.”
To get the in-person goodbye they missed out on, Powell and his mother Davies are hoping to go to Jacksonville’s game at the New York Giants on Nov. 22.
“We are desperately going to try and see if we can maybe somehow get to the game and get behind the visitor’s team bench so he can say goodbye to his friend,” Davies said. “We posted that video in hope that Jordan would see it so Jack can have some kind of closure because it lingers, and it’s going to fester until he gets that chance. He needs to say goodbye.”
And as Powell continues to form unbreakable bonds with players he looks up to as father figures, he’s also raising awareness for the Eagles Autism Foundation. He’s given EAF pins to players like C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Reed Blankenship, Darius Slay, Isaiah Rodgers, and Brandon Graham.
“I just want to do it to help the community, help people that are kind of like myself,” Powell said. “Because, you know, it’s important for me to do that every year for people to understand I’m not a kid that just goes around and gets autographs. I also want to give back to the community. I think it’s a very good thing what the Eagles Autism Foundation does.”
A crucial crossroads is here. The Eagles have reached the bye and, as timing would also have it, the NFL trade deadline, mired in their worst stretch of the Nick Sirianni era. There’s no doubt the franchise needs to course correct, but how? With who? Will players be on the move? Could coaches’ jobs be on the line? The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Olivia Reiner conduct an autopsy of the Eagles after their seventh straight loss — a 19-11 defeat to the New York Giants — and look at the big picture of an organization that has swiftly fallen far from its Super Bowl glory two years ago. Listen here.
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