Eagles Use Late Draft Pick On Humongous Rugby League Man
The late stages of the NFL player draft are for kickers and special-teamers, and for taking fliers on long-shot contributors. Saturday afternoon the Super Bowl-champion Eagles made the long-shot-est of long-shot selections in the 7th round of the 2018 draft when they selected the gigantic and tantalizingly athletic Jordan Mailata:
The designation of Mailata as an offensive tackle, here, is arbitrary as hell—Mailata, you see, has never played American gridiron football before. Might as well call him a quarterback! Mailata is a 20-year-old Samoan rugby league player from Australia, and is a damn fearsome one, as you will soon see. And, at 6-foot-8 and 346 pounds, he is certainly humongous enough for offensive line work. Look at him go!
Mailata reportedly ran a 5.12 40-yard dash at his pro day, and visited several teams (including the Eagles) in the pre-draft process. Watching him plow right over plucky little rugby league fellows is truly mesmerizing, and I wish the hulking mountain of a man the very best of luck in his new career.
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