The Philadlephia Eagles have always had strength in the trenches under general manager, Howie Roseman, who values offensive and defensive line like no other GM in the NFL.
Whilst the Eagles have always been quick to select players up front early on in the draft – with the team having taken a four linemen in the top two rounds over the past four years – it is sometimes the longer term investments that pay off the most.
Philadelphia drafted Australian tackle project, Jordan Mailata in the seventh round of the 2018 draft. Yet the Aussie did not manage to even get a start until mid way through his third season on the roster after continuing to learn the game and battling multiple injuries.
But the 6’8 behemoth has not looked back since signing his four year, $64 million extension in September 2021, which has now included a first team All-Pro selection for his excellent work last season.
Mailata Recognized As League’s #1 Tackle By PFF
And now, as we remain entrenched in the offseason, Pro Football Focus has given him the great honor of being their number one offensive linemen going into the 2025 season.
“Mailata was the most complete offensive lineman in the NFL in 2024.” Zoltan Buday of PFF writes, “Only two offensive tackles earned PFF pass-blocking grades above 90.0, and only two earned PFF run-blocking grades above 90.0. Philadelphiaâs left tackle was the only one to achieve both feats. His 95.2 PFF overall grade also led the position.
Certainly some very high praise for a player who did not play a snap of college football, and did not grow up with the game at all.
What Is The State Of The Eagles’ Offensive Line Heading Into 2025
With Mailata and right tackle, Lane Johnson, both All-Pros – and still playing at an all pro caliber level – the exterior has a strong case for being the best tackle tandem in the NFL.
On the interior, guard, Landon Dickerson is the highest paid interior offensive lineman, whilst center, Cam Jurgens, agreed to a very highly compensated 4 year, $68 million extension last month.
So the only real question mark on the unit is with regards to the right guard position, which is currently being occupied by third year former third round pick, Tyler Steen.
After Mekhi Becton won the starting job last offseason, Steen did not get much of a look in, starting just 2 games in 2024. But the games he did play in were not super promising as he managed just a 40.6 overall grade from PFF, good for 131st out of 136 qualifying guards.
Yet, there is a reason that he is currently the favorite to take the starting right guard job, as he showed signs of strong play during his starts – and with such a small sample size, it is hard to accurately gauge a player’s actual ability from a simple numerical grade.
But if Steen does not cut it early on in training camp, the Eagles traded safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans in exchange for former first round guard, Kenyon Green, for that exact reason.
Similar to what they did with Becton, Roseman and Sirianni could well believe that they can help get the most out of a next level talent with Green if it turns out that Steen is not their guy at guard.
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