Matt Leo joins surprisingly long line of Philadelphia Eagles from Australia

Australian Matt Leo will be joining the Philadelphia Eagles by way of the NFL International Player Pathway Program.

Australian born Matt Leo, a 28-year-old rookie defensive end from Iowa State will be joining the Philadelphia Eagles from the NFL International Player Pathway program, which provides foreign-born prospects a chance to live a dream of playing in the NFL.

Due to the fact that Leo wasn’t drafted, he will be a member of the Eagles practice squad for his first season.

At 6 feet 7 inches and 275 pounds, this former plumber is an enticing prospect to keep around with his size and athleticism, despite his rawness and age.

Leo’s story is an easy one to rally behind. It’s a story that has fans drawing comparisons to Vince Papale, and when one considers the old television show Friday Night Lights was one of the main factors in Leo deciding he wanted to play in the NFL, he certainly comes off as a common man.

While it’s easy to root for these foreign stories, Leo is hardly the first. In fact, he’s one of a surprising amount of Australians to be connected with the Eagles.

Philadelphia currently has two Aussies already on the roster in punter Cameron Johnston and tackle Jordan Mailata. Johnston became the Eagles starting punter in 2018 after taking over for Donnie “Bag of Bones” Jones and has proven to be a solid one that’s been improving each season.

Mailata, like Leo, was a product of the International Player Pathway Program. Unlike Leo, however, Mailata was drafted, and able to try to make the final roster his rookie year.

A fan favorite and vastly improving, Mailata turned the heads of everyone this past preseason from fans to coaches with impressive performances.

At 6 feet 8 inches and 346 pounds, Mailata is certainly a unit, something that Australian NFL hopefuls have in common.

After spending 2019 on the injured reserve, it will be interesting to see if Mailata finds his way on the roster again since Philadelphia recently drafted two offensive linemen.

Three Australians on one team is one thing, but the Aussie-Philly connection doesn’t even stop there.

Mat McBriar was the Eagles punter for the majority of Andy Reid’s much-maligned final season with the team in 2012, initially losing out to Chas Henry in training camp before ultimately being brought back to replace him.

Before the herculean position battle that was McBriar vs. Henry, the Eagles punter was Sav Rocca, as fans remember.

Rocca, one of the greatest Australian Football League players of all time, signed with Eagles in 2007, and upon making the team that year, became the oldest rookie in NFL history at age 33.

He was also one of the biggest punters in NFL history at 6 feet 5 inches and 263 pounds, showing there must be something in the water down there with these large NFL players.

Rocca’s tenure as the Eagles punter was up and down, but he is still technically the most successful Australian to don the midnight green of the Eagles.

Fans will have to wait at least a season to see what Leo is really made of, as he will have to spend his rookie year on the practice squad due to not being drafted.

Leo’s journey is certainly one to rally behind, but it is certainly eye-opening as well when one realizes that he is officially another member of a surprisingly long line of Australian Eagles.