Inside the Iggles
FanSided

Philadelphia Eagles: 5 Players entering a make or break Preseason

By Justin Grasso

PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 23: Running back Wendell Smallwood #28 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates a first down against the Indianapolis Colts during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on September 23, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 23: Running back Wendell Smallwood #28 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates a first down against the Indianapolis Colts during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on September 23, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – AUGUST 09: Ola Adeniyi #92 of the Pittsburgh Steelers rushes into Jordan Mailata #68 of the Philadelphia Eagles in the third quarter during the preseason game at Lincoln Financial Field on August 9, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Eagles 31-14. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – AUGUST 09: Ola Adeniyi #92 of the Pittsburgh Steelers rushes into Jordan Mailata #68 of the Philadelphia Eagles in the third quarter during the preseason game at Lincoln Financial Field on August 9, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Eagles 31-14. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

2. Jordan Mailata, OL

Last season, Jordan Mailata turned into a star during his first four football games EVER. Unfortunately, the star might’ve burned out a bit. The former Australian Rugby standout made a smooth transition to American Football last year and surprisingly did well enough to make the Eagles’ final 53-man roster by the end of the offseason.

Although Mailata would never debut in the regular season, the Aussie continued to improve at the left tackle position in the offseason in preparation for year two. Now the Eagles put Mailata in a tough situation though. After drafting Andre Dillard in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, it became clear that the Eagles no longer need Mailata to back Jason Peters up.

Instead, Mailata is off to the right side of the line learning new positions again. Mailata is viewed as a tackle, but he’s also been learning the guard position here and there as well. That’s a lot of change for a guy who just picked up the sport a year ago. So far, it seems like the switch has gotten the best of Mailata because he’s been struggling throughout training camp. We’ll see if he’s still up for the challenge in the next couple of weeks.

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