A former seventh-round draft choice with no previous football experience, Jordan Mailata's become a resounding NFL success story.
That point was driven home emphatically on Saturday.
Mailata signed a four-year extension with the Philadelphia Eagles, who locked up the offensive tackle for $64 million with a max of $80 million and $40.85 million guaranteed, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.
Mailata, who enters the 2021 campaign as Philadelphia's starting left tackle, is now on the Eagles' books through 2025.
It makes for a situation along the line that you don't see every Sunday, as Mailata, a 2018 NFL Draft seventh-round pick, is ahead of 2019 first-rounder Andre Dillard, who could possibly move around to find a better fit on the Philly front.
Mailata, 24, is a native of Australia who never played football prior to being drafted, but tapes of him playing rugby garnered interest.
Anything but an overnight success, Mailata was hampered by injuries in each of his first two seasons before finally seeing the field last year. Mailata played in 15 games for Philadelphia in 2020 with 10 starts and now portends to be a pillar in the starting lineup for a rebuilding Eagles squad.
Despite the huge extension, Mailata is still a work in progress, but as he's already become a formidable tackle with so little experience, it portends for a bright future and ample reason as to why the Eagles locked up their backside blocker for seasons to come.
