The Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl with some creative roster building, but they’ve really gone for it with one of their seventh round draft picks.
The Eagles traded up to pick 233 to select an offensive lineman. This isn’t terribly remarkable, but it’s remarkable when the lineman in question is Jordan Mailata, an Australian rugby player who has never played American football.
Howie Roseman doesn't care! Eagles draft Jordan Mailata who has never played football. He's an Australian that played rugby. He's a phenomenal athlete at 6'8", 346-pounds. Fun pick get him on the practice squad and teach him to football.
— Rob (@RobPaul54) April 28, 2018
To be clear, this was no joke pick. As depicted on the highlight reel ESPN put together after the pick, Mailata is quite the physical specimen.
Philadelphia Eagles draft 6'8 OT Jordan Mailata who played in the Australian National Rugby League in 2017. He's never played a snap of American Football #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/xo1Ox3rSbZ
— NCAAF Nation (@NCAAFNation247) April 28, 2018
Mailata has size and was impressive at the NFL Combine, including a 4.67 short shuttle. He’s also just 20, which means he has room to grow and is young enough to be taught the game if the Eagles decide to keep him around as a project. We’ve seen other pro rugby players try to make it in the NFL and fall short for various reasons, but hey, maybe Mailata has a chance. It’s a fun story either way.
