Eagles LT Jordan Mailata Defining NFL’s International Pathway to Success

Philadelphia Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata is the crown jewel of the league's International Pathway Program.

PHILADELPHIA - In many ways, Philadelphia Eagles star left tackle Jordan Mailata is the crown jewel of the NFL’s International Pathway Program.

A former Australian rugby player, Mailata went from football novice to one of the best left tackles in the world inside of four years by mixing prodigious raw talent with the developmental skills of the Eagles’ well-regarded offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland.

On the eve of the 2021 season, Mailata signed a four-year, $64 million extension with over $40 million of that guaranteed as a core piece of the league’s best offensive line and the biggest success story for what Mailata himself calls “Jeff Stoutland University.”

The next crop of IPP talent was allocated by the NFL to eight teams on Thursday – the clubs in the NFC North and AFC West – and includes six Nigerians, one Frenchman, and another Australian.

Defensive lineman Haggai Chisom Ndubuisi was allocated to Denver, offensive lineman Chukwuebuka Godrick was earmarked for Kansas City, DL David Ebuka Agoha is in Las Vegas, and DL Basil Chijioke Okoye is with the LA Chargers.

The NFC North allocations were offensive lineman Roy Mbaeteka to Chicago, tight end Patrick Murtagh to Detroit, defensive lineman Kenneth Odumegwu with Green Bay, and defensive tackle Junior Aho, who played in college at SMU, to Minnesota.

"To see this hugely talented group of players be allocated to NFL rosters is very exciting, and a testament to the success of the NFL's global football development programs for international athletes," said Peter O'Reilly, NFL Executive Vice President, Club Business, Major Events & International.

The real testament to the success of the program is Mailata, a player the Eagles thought so much of after getting a peek at him at a camp at IMG Academy in Florida that Philadelphia general manager Howie Roseman tore Stoutland away from a scheduled golf vacation to take a look at a 6-foot-8, 365-pound piece of clay that moves like he was 100 pounds lighter.

At the time, IMG Academy trainer Jay Butler noted that he had "never had anybody that looks like that" and Philadelphia was so enamored by Mailata’s physical gifts that they moved up 17 spots in the seventh round of the 2018 draft to select him at No. 233 overall, a decision that stripped him of any potential IPP exemptions.

The Eagles have carried current defensive end Matt Leo, also an Australian, for three years thanks to the IPP exemptions.

With Mailata, who was just the second player to be drafted with no American high school or college experience after German Moritz Böhringer, a sixth-round pick of Minnesota in 2016 who hung around the outskirts of the league with the Vikings and then the Cincinnati Bengals for five years but never played in a regular-season game, the Eagles had to do things with no exemption as a safety net.

If Philadelphia wanted to keep Mailata it would have to either put him on the 53-man roster or get him through waivers and sign him back to the practice squad. The Eagles were concerned about the latter and stashed Mailata on the back end of the roster for two full years before he got an opportunity due to injuries in what was a poor 2020 season for the team.

At the time, Stoutland said he thought Mailata was ready but even the best o-line coach didn’t really know. The first test was against Nick Bosa and many expected a disaster. Instead, Mailata more than held his own and quickly developed into a top-tier left tackle, outlasting 2019 first-round pick Andre Dillard to become the long-term answer for the Eagles at one of the game’s most important positions.

Pro Football Focus graded Mailata as No. 43 of 79 offensive tackles after his first extensive playing time in 2020. By 2021 he was No. 3 of 83 and last season No. 9 of 81 despite dealing with a painful shoulder injury for much of the campaign.

Asked if he has any advice for this year’s crop of IPP hopefuls Mailata pointed toward perseverance.

"My advice to the players coming into the program would be to enjoy and respect the process,” Mailata said. “Give it everything you've got. Embrace the opportunity and don't let it go to waste. Hard work will always outlast talent."

And if you combine the two, you might even get the next Jordan Mailata.

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-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen