NRL REJECT ON BRINK OF SPORTING GREATNESS
HE IS Australia’s answer to The Blind Side; the rags-to-riches movie about Super Bowl-winning offensive tackle Michael Oher and his rise from the streets of Memphis to the NFL.
Both Oher and the 203cm, 166kg Jordan Mailata came from nowhere to crack the big-time. Mailata was unwanted by the NRL and at one stage had as little as $5000. He nevertheless downed tools as a Bankstown labourer to chase his NFL dream. Told he would be little more than a practice squad player, Mailata defied the odds to become one of the NFL’s best left tackles.
He stands to earn a $215,000 bonus if he wins the Super Bowl – a figure that pales in comparison to his base salary of $US16m ($23m) a season.
Here are four key questions that will get you up to speed ahead of Monday morning’s Super Bowl 57.
Who is Jordan Mailata?
A former South Sydney under-20s prop turned NFL superstar, Mailata is undoubtedly the most successful Australian athlete to transition to American football.
Drafted with pick No.233 in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL draft, the giant Mailata was seen as a longterm investment selection by the Philadelphia Eagles.
A few years later he beat former first-round pick Andre Dillard for the starting left tackle spot and is one of the best at the position in the NFL.
It’s rare that any player taken beyond the third round has a notable NFL career.
Pre-draft talk around Mailata was not promising. He had not played a single snap of American football prior to being selected by the Eagles, and early projections had him slated as nothing more than a practice squad player. Now he is off to the Super Bowl.
Why is Mailata such a big deal?
Only one Australian has won the Super Bowl – former Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Jesse Williams in 2014. However, Williams never played outside of the pre-season due to injury. He spent all of the Seahawks’ Super Bowl-winning season on the injured reserve list, though still earned a ring for being on the roster.
Former Geelong AFL captain Ben Graham became the first Australian to play in a Super Bowl when his Arizona Cardinals were defeated by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2009. Graham had five punts in the 27-23 defeat.
Mailata – and possibly Eagles punter Arryn Siposs, should he return from injury – will be just the third and perhaps fourth Australians to feature in America’s largest sporting event.
Siposs, like Graham, will only see the field in punting situations. But as the starting left tackle for the Eagles, Mailata will spend the bulk of the game on the field.
How important is he to the Eagles?
Last year, ProFootballFocus graded Mailata’s four-year, $US64m contract the NFL’s biggest bargain. Even the NFL layman knows the quarterback is the most valuable position in the sport. They’re the face of the franchise and whole seasons often rest on the ability, and health, of a team’s QB.
The job of an offensive lineman is to protect the QB and thus, the left tackle is often considered the second-most important position. That’s Mailata.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts is crucial to the team’s success, meaning Mailata is too.
What will be his Super Bowl role?
Protecting Jalen Hurts.
Hurts helps in this regard because he’s a running QB, able to extend plays with his legs and run himself out of trouble. But the offensive line is still vitally important.
All eyes will be on the Hurts versus Patrick Mahomes quarterback battle, and rightfully so, given they are the two NFL MVP candidates after impressive seasons.
But Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones was a juggernaut in Kansas City’s AFC Championship Game victory over the Bengals, headlined by a crucial late sack on Joe Burrow.
The Chiefs like to move Jones across the defensive line to help him get to the QB. Mailata will be one of the main men tasked with keeping Jones from crossing the line of scrimmage and getting at Hurts. Minimising Jones’s ability to get to the QB will go a long way to the Eagles winning the Super Bowl.