Philadelphia Eagles: Reasons to remain optimistic about 2021

The Philadelphia Eagles were wise to extend Jordan Mailata.

There wasn’t much debate on this subject, but the Eagles were 100% correct on extending left tackle Jordan Mailata. Though he’s missed some time, he still is ranked as the fourth-best tackle overall by PFF.com. Still, stating this former Aussie rugby player turned starting left tackle’s story is a miracle would be an understatement.

Securing an athlete like Mailata, whose talents are now known, was wise. On the open market, players of his caliber are going well higher as far as price tags. Much credit also has to be given to offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland, but as far as the Eagles not giving up on Mailata, it was very smart.

Part of the securement of Mailata is ensuring they have cornerstones to build this team on. It’s no secret that the Birds build the team from the trenches, but those players are heading into the twilights of their careers on both sides of the ball. No one knows if center Jason Kelce will be returning next season or what might happen with offensive lineman Brandon Brooks and Lane Johnson.

It would appear that the Birds have taken the same approach to their rebuild. The ceiling on the now starting left tackle is exceptionally high. The few games missed may cause a setback for an otherwise possible Pro-Bowl season.