Philadelphia Eagles: 3 Reasons Jack Driscoll will beat out Jordan Mailata
![Jordan Mailata (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) Jordan Mailata (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/11b99a091a2ce928ea4902d164745c69338327042268a9d7494c64d9562bdffe.jpg)
3. His Philadelphia Eagles teammates and his coaches are all in agreement. This Driscoll guy is for real.
Before Brandon Graham even learned what his name was, he was made aware of the skill set. He actually called him ‘Jake’ in a recent presser and also mentioned that he had forgotten his last name, but ‘B.G.’ had no issues with remembering the number he was wearing (63).
He spent some time lining up versus the young man and had nothing but high praise for a prospect that’s nine years his junior.
Here’s a quote.
"I like him a lot… I love his attitude so far, just (in the way) he tries to finish blocks. You have to really work an edge on him because he has the big body… Lane (Johnson) is still Lane. Lane is looking good (and) beefed up. You can’t really bullrush him too much, so I have to work edges on him. That’s been fun, but right now, I think the battle (is with) ’63. Me and him went against each other yesterday, and I like what I see so far from him."
We’re sure that he knows his name by now. Graham also had this to say about Mailata.
"(Mailata is) just getting back into the mix because he’s been hurt since last year. I think he’s doing a good job, just trying to do what ‘Stout’ (Jeff Stoutland) is telling him to do. I think he just has to get back into that rhythm again, but I’m loving what I see already, his positive attitude."
On Thursday, head coach Doug Pederson joined in with his admiration of the young Driscoll during a pre-practice presser. As some of you will remember when Philly took Driscoll, the theory was he’d move to guard, but since then, we’ve seen him battle Graham, Josh Sweat, and Vinny Curry while playing tackle. He’s also done a nice job against all three.
Here’s what Coach had to say.
"Well, obviously, he’s working at tackle right now. He is a guy that we can move inside. He’s got that position versatility for us. We’re excited about him. We’re also trying to, with Jason Peters and (Matt) Pryor and Nate Herbig (to find) a balance and (trying to) get enough work for everybody. So, right now, we’ve just kept him at tackle. There are some times where we have moved him inside, whether it be a walkthrough in the afternoon or whatever with the second group, but we like his versatility of being able to play inside and outside."
There have also been rumors of Driscoll playing center. Imagine that. Keep an eye on this guy. Why? We’ve never heard the term ‘position versatility’ used with any mention of Mailata.
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When it’s all said and done, remember this. Philly invested a seventh-round draft choice in Mailata. They invested a fourth-round choice in Driscoll before spending a sixth-round choice on his former teammate with the Auburn Tigers, Prince Tega-Wanogho. They may not have done that if they were totally sold on the big man from Australia.
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They’ve also got Matt Pryor and Nate Herbig in the fold, and there’s Casey Tucker and Julian Good-Jones, who were both added to the preseason roster post-draft. Watch this battle closely, but when it’s all said and done, don’t be surprised if Driscoll is on this Eagles roster and Mailata isn’t. If we’re being honest, there’s already a lot of writing of the proverbial wall.