Left tackle Jordan Mailata of the Philadelphia Eagles will play a crucial role in the upcoming Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs. Yet he has only been playing football for five years. On the unique rise of an exceptional talent.

It actually seems almost impossible to go undiscovered as a talented player by today’s NFL. Scouting networks are putting out feelers all over the U.S., numerous companies are supplying reams of data on college division players to the 32 teams, stars from international teams are gaining attention and every stone is being turned over to see if there isn’t a diamond in the rough underneath.

And yet Jordan Mailata barely flashed on anyone’s radar in Florida in February 2018. That he was overlooked was certainly not due to his stature at the time. After all, the hulk, who was just over two metres tall, weighed 150 kilograms even then. It was much more due to the fact that Mailata had never put on a football helmet before.

The then 20-year-old had come all the way from Australia to the USA. A highlight video of his actual sport, rugby, in which he ran over his opponents, humourless as a Tarantino antagonist, got him an invitation to the training.

Jordan Mailata: Spotted by Jeff Stoutland

Two NFL coaches were reportedly live on the scene at the time. A Pittsburgh Steelers coach and Jeff Stoutland, longtime Eagles offensive line coach. “I was overjoyed that hardly anybody else was there. I knew then he had all the skills we were looking for,” Stoutland tells a news conference before the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs.

A few months later, the Eagles selected Mailata in the seventh round. For the draft pick, by the way, the Eagles traded up 17 spots – and ahead of the Steelers’ seventh-round pick.

Mailata was only the second player after Moritz Böhringer to be selected without any college football experience in the US. For O-line coach Stoutland, Mailata began another project.

The now 60-year-old is considered one of the best coaches for offensive linemen in the NFL. “I think he’s great in every area. He has a great scheme understanding, teaches technique very well and builds bonds with his players. He’s great at evaluating. An all-around great coach,” praises Chip Kelly, who piloted Stoutland onto his coaching staff as head coach with the Eagles in 2013.

For the 2023 Super Bowl: These are the rules of the NFL

Stoutland, the highly regarded O-line architect, already gave a number of offensive linemen a new coat of career paint or established them as starters. Mailata, who already brought a stable base of very good physicality, stature and amazing athleticism, also went through the training process to become a cornerstone.

But the pedestal threatened to crumble early on. Mailata played his first football snap against, of all teams, the Steelers. In the preseason match, pass rusher Ola Adeniyi ran around him, got to the quarterback. Sack. Fumble. Turnover. Mailata left the turf shaking his head.

And yet, in his first few outings, his natural talent quickly showed. Brian Baldinger, former player and current expert on offensive linemen, was already analysing Mailata after his third preseason appearance, “There are players who do this for ten years and can’t do it as well as he can. It’s his third game. He has already made huge steps forward. It’s a hell of a development.”

Jordan Mailata: Developing into a starter

However, injuries and a long learning curve slowed Mailata, who converted from Australian rugby player to left tackle, in his first two NFL seasons.

On the first game day of the 2020/21 season, the wait was over. Starter Jack Driscoll had to leave the field injured. “When he had to go down, I turned around and asked who was coming in. I then quickly realised, ‘Oh, that’s me,'” Mailata said later.

Much like most of the pass rushers he now handles with regularity, he never let go of the starter’s spot. Now 25, it’s been impossible to imagine three seasons without him.

“He deserves so much respect and credit for that development. It wasn’t easy, he had to learn something foreign to him. It’s a great story,” praises Stoutland.

Jordan Mailata: Cornerstone for the Eagles

In recognition of this development, the Eagles are equipping Mailata with a four-year contract ahead of the 2021/22 season that could see him pocket up to $64 million.

Mailata pays back his team in the form of strong performances. This season he was selected as an alternative for the Pro Bowl. Schematically, his athleticism allows the Eagles to use him as a pre-blocker in the open field on screen passes or runs over the outside.

Then his rugby skills stand out again as he ploughs the turf at lightning speed in search of the next opponent.

In the past two seasons he has allowed a total of nine sacks, a good figure for a left tackle. In the Super Bowl, he will once again cover the “blind side” of Jalen Hurts. The diamond in the rough that hardly anyone had on their radar has become a seasoned cornerstone.