Jordan Mailata’s journey from Australian rugby fields to NFL Super Bowl champion already reads like a script too wild for Hollywood. A 6’8”, 365-pound phenom who had never snapped an American football until 2018, Mailata landed with the Philadelphia Eagles, earned a starting left tackle spot, helped hoist the Lombardi Trophy, and now wears a captain’s “C” on his chest.
But Mailata’s latest highlight isn’t a pancake block—it’s a full-throated defense of backup center Brett Toth, delivered on The Jordan Mailata Show on 94 WIP-FM after Philly’s Week 8 victory.
Toth has taken heat all season. Whispers in the media and on message boards questioned whether he could even handle shotgun snaps for Jalen Hurts, let alone anchor the interior against exotic fronts. Mailata wasn’t having it.
“We knew what we had to do, man. When we have these off-the-record talks with some of you guys and we talk about Brett, about what he means to this team, the patience that he has, just waiting in the water and capitalizing on his opportunity at center… We knew he’s a center. The last two weeks, I thought he’s put up two great games back-to-back. And [it’s no surprise] because we just knew what we have in the player we have in Brett and what he was able to do. We talk about his big brain and how he’s able to make those calls with all the unique fronts that we’re getting, putting everyone on the same call… Today, I think it was just a clean game from Brett where we all knew where the point was. So, like I say, [it was] just a great game from Brett.”
Translation: the haters were wrong, the locker room never wavered, and Toth just authored back-to-back gems while starter Cam Jurgens heals.
Make no mistake—Jurgens remains the long-term answer at center and will reclaim the gig once cleared. But Toth’s surge is a reminder that depth isn’t just a buzzword on South Philly’s roster sheet. When communication and execution faltered in the first six weeks, Toth stepped in and delivered “clean” football, exactly what Mailata and the vets demanded.
You can never have too many good offensive linemen. And right now, the Eagles have one more proven one than the doubters gave them credit for—thanks, in part, to a captain who remembers what it feels like to be the underdog waiting for his shot.