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Philadelphia Eagles: Check out these sick clips featuring Jordan Mailata

By Geoffrey Knox

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 17: A general view is seen during the round two NRL match between the Penrith Panthers and the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Penrith Stadium on March 17, 2018 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 17: A general view is seen during the round two NRL match between the Penrith Panthers and the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Penrith Stadium on March 17, 2018 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images) /
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The Philadelphia Eagles went with a rugby star, Jordan Mailata, at pick 233. Are you excited yet?

Well, that’s Howie Roseman and Joe Douglas for you. With the 233rd selection of the 2018 NFL Draft, they went away from conventional thinking and got creative, again. The result was the selection of six-foot-eight, 346 pound rugby star Jordan Mailata. The Philadelphia Eagles‘ executive vice president of football personnel and vice president of player personnel are probably never going to be accused of being conventional now.

To this point of their brief partnership, Roseman and Douglas have used every tool in the old belt to fine tune a Super Bowl-winning roster, and now, they’ve used one that, to this point in NFL history, hasn’t been used quite as often.

They’ve added rugby scouting to their repertoire. Here’s the official announcement of the selection by ‘The Birds’ themselves:

Might this actually be Jason Peters‘  eventual replacement?

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Just this past season, Philly added another standout from the rugby world in the form of tight end Adam Zaruba. While Zaruba hasn’t really seen the field, there may be more of a legitimate chance to see Mailata. We once thought the Eagles would eventually flip right tackle Lane Johnson to the other side of the line when left tackle Jason Peters was ready to call it a career.

Then, just last season, Peters went down with an injury, Halapoulivaati Vaitai stepped in and Johnson was never moved. Could the plan be to leave Johnson where he is? Might Vaitai actually be the eventual replacement? Might Mailata and the 206th pick of the draft, Matt Pryor, now be factored in as a bit of insurance?

Well, they have to make the team first, but nothing’s out of the realm of possibility. One thing’s certain. They’ll both have some of the best pass rushers in all of football to practice with.

Okay, let’s do some film study.

Here’s the selection of Mailata as it happened and some pretty sick clips of him in his natural element:

Video courtesy of the NFL’s official YouTube page

You knew we had some highlights right? Check out some of what he did in his time with the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Australia:

With a mad scientist like Eagles head coach Doug Pederson on the sideline, you have to ask if the wheels are turning. You could play this guy at fullback. Imagine Mailata exploding through the whole to clear the way for Darren Sproles, Corey Clement or Jay Ajayi.

He also can catch. What about the tight end position?

See what we mean?

Check out Mailata sitting with some of the guys from the NFL Network shortly after joining the Philadelphia Eagles:

Video courtesy of the NFL Network’s official YouTube page

Some of you skeptics are staring at this pick, and you’re wondering about what happens if this doesn’t work. We, at ITI, have a better question.

What if it actually does?

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