Jordan Mailata hasn’t been around the Eagles’ newest crop of rookies very long but their two Day 3 offensive tackles have already been impressing the veteran left tackle.
Mailata ahead of OTAs praised both sixth-round pick Myles Hinton from Michigan and sixth-round pick Cameron Williams from Texas.
What has stood out most about them?
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SIGN UP HERE “The effort, the grind,” Mailata said this spring. “A couple days we had to get on them a little bit. I got on them a little bit. Now we’re into the second week together. Man, just the effort they put into the drills. When they make a mistake, they correct the next day.
“That is showing that someone is coachable. It’s not just the physical side. It’s can they learn from their mistakes and can they apply it the next day when we’re doing that drill? Myles and Cam are doing a great job.”
In addition to Hinton and Williams, the Eagles also drafted interior offensive lineman Drew Kendall in the fifth round out of Boston College. So that’s three Day 3 offensive linemen for legendary offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland to mold.
And if anyone knows how to take coaching from Stout, it’s Mailata.
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It’s hard to believe that Mailata is now entering his eighth season with the Eagles after being selected in the seventh round back in 2018. His story is obviously a unique one because he barely had any football background before joining the NFL. But it shows just how much Stoutland can help a talented player who is willing to put in the work.
“You have to meet Coach Stout halfway,” Mailata said. “That’s how you become successful. When someone is extending a hand or giving you an olive branch, you have to be able and willing to meet him halfway. That’s like half the job. As cliche as it is, if you just do what coach is telling you to do, you’ll be great. It took me a long time to realize that.”
Mailata in 2025 will enter his fifth season as the Eagles’ full-time starting left tackle and he’s become one of the best in the NFL. He was snubbed from the Pro Bowl in 2024 — likely because he played just 12 games — but was recognized by the All-Pro voters, who named him to the second team. And ProFootballFocus in 2024 ranked Mailata as the best offensive lineman (not just tackle) in the entire NFL.
Aside from his duties as the Eagles’ full-time left tackle, Mailata has also become an important leader for the team and was named a captain last season for the first time in his career.
He takes that responsibility seriously. And wants to help his new teammates as much as possible.
“I love our rookies,” Mailata said. “This is a great rookie class, especially in that O-line room. They work hard. I told Myles and I told Cameron and I told Drew, I said, ‘I don’t care if you come for my job. If you’re going to be better than me, you’re going to be better than me. But I’m going to make it damn hard for you to reach that. I’m going to bring you along. I’m not going to kick you down.’ I said, ‘That’s not how it runs here. That’s not how we do it. I’ll bring you along because you’ll make me better.’ And boy, that boy is pushing me.”
When asked who specifically is pushing him, Mailata said all three.
Mailata said he’s so willing to help the rookies because there were veterans to guide him when he was a Day 3 pick back in 2018. He listed them: Jason Peters, Lane Johnson, Jason Kelce, Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Isaac Seumalo, Stefen Wisniewski, Chance Warmack. Mailata said he feels like he owes it to these rookies to do the same thing.
They also push him to be better.
“I don’t want to be complacent,” Mailata said. “If I feel like someone’s chomping at my heels, it’s going to make me run fast.”