Philadelphia Eagles roster battles: Andre Dillard versus Jordan Mailata

Mailata is winning in the polls among Philadelphia Eagles fans.

There isn’t a Philadelphia Eagles fan in the Delaware Valley or anywhere else on Planet Earth that doesn’t love Jordan Mailata. What’s not to like? The former seventh-rounder never played a down of football but decided he was going to figure out how to do the job.

Following his first training camp and preseason, Mailata made Philly’s 53-man roster in 2018 but saw his season end in the middle of December due to the fact that he literally had a broken back. He was back for the start of the following training camp but placed on the team’s IR (injured reserve) after missing the first two games of the season.

Mailata continued to work. He found his way onto the field in 2020 and has overcome those injuries to become someone Philly can truly rely on when called upon. A concussion he sustained versus the Dallas Cowboys ended his run in 2020, but no one believes that he won’t be back.

He’s three inches taller and 11 pounds heavier than Andre Dillard (six-foot-eight and 346 pounds compared to six-foot-five and 335). He’s also able to play both the left tackle and right tackle position. That’s something that Andre Dillard can’t say.

The long and short of everything is this. Regardless of how much experience he had prior to becoming an NFL offensive lineman, he’s figured it out. He’s better than Brett Toth and Casey Tucker. He’s better than most of Philly’s linemen, and he’s only going to get better with experience.

Just the fact that we’re debating whether or not he’s as good as Dillard or better means one thing. Dillard has a lot of work to do to be an elite tackle. Mailata has similar potential, but we know he’ll get better with more experience.