Philadelphia Eagles have a star in offensive tackle Jordan Mailata
The 2020 NFL season could not have ended fast enough. It seemed like a neverending carousel of bad moments for the Philadelphia Eagles, a carousel that ended in a 4-11-1 record. The Birds and their passionate fans are in desperate need of a fresh start.
Despite a rocky start to the new year (Carson Wentz drama among other things), the 2021 offseason couldn’t have gotten here any more quickly. A drama-filled march through 2020 seemed to leak over into some stressful times. The good news is the Eagles’ front office seems, confident in their new head coach (Nick Sirianni) and also confident in the current direction they’re headed in.
The Philadelphia Eagles are in great hands with Jordan Mailata.
While things have looked downright ugly, Philly and their fans have a few bright spots on the roster to be excited about, with probably none being more thrilling than the play of third-year offensive tackle Jordan Mailata.
The Australian native is built differently than your average NFL tackle and has been a tremendous find for general manager Howie Roseman. The former seventh-round selection has been an absolute steal, especially when you consider his back story and the fact that the Birds got a starting-caliber lineman out of the deal.
Mailata is a former rugby star that never played a snap of American football in any capacity. Fast forward, and at the end of the 2020-2021 season, he had evolved into one of the National Football League’s best young offensive tackles. While the Philadelphia Eagles had a horrible season, Mailata was arguably one of their best offensive weapons. Unfortunately, that gets overlooked because the team he plays on was a trainwreck.
Here is an interesting quote for Philadelphia Eagles fans to ponder.
We at ITI spoke briefly with a scouting source and asked him his take on the former rugby star. While he did not want to be named, he did have this to say:
"You know, you just don’t see this kind of production from a guy who just, three years ago, really didn’t even know the game. His development is nothing short of amazing really and to do it after a Hall-of-Famer like (Jason) Peters, is the craziest part of it all. He just went in and got better every day, every week, and every game. In my opinion, the Philly front office needs to roll with him at left tackle."
Jordan Mailata is a player you can call a diamond in the rough. Traveling the unlikeliest of paths to become a true weapon for the Philadelphia Eagles. Moving forward it would behoove this franchise’s front office to treat him as so. While fans seem upset with all the signs of their favorite team being in a rebuild, they seem to have their left tackle spot locked up for now and hopefully the long term.