Few compliments are better for an athlete than saying they play their best when the lights shine brightest.
The Philadelphia Eagles have a player like that in left offensive tackle Jordan Mailata, who came in at No. 5 in PFF’s ranking of the NFL’s best players in primetime games.
PFF’s model included all games played that started at 6:30 p.m. ET or later, including both the regular season and playoffs, dating back to 2023. Mailata’s overall grade ratcheted up to an incredible 93.2 overall in those games, with Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua coming in at No. 1 with a 94.0 overall grade.
Detroit Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell was No. 2 with a 93.9 grade, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was No. 3 with a 93.9 grade, and San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams was No. 4 with a 93.3 grade.
“No list of the game’s best tackles would feel appropriate leaving out Mailata, and he makes his way here as well,” PFF’s Bradley Locker wrote. “The Eagles’ blindside star has suited up on 1,111 primetime snaps since 2023 — the seventh-most at his position — and has flourished. Mailata’s 92.8 PFF run-blocking grade trails only Sewell, while his 82.4 PFF pass-blocking grade is seventh at the position. Interestingly, the decorated Mailata finished above a 63.5 overall PFF grade in two of his five primetime games last season — struggling a bit more against the Giants, Lions and Chargers.”
PFF Loves Them Some Jordan Mailata
Mailata has overperformed for the Eagles to the point it’s becoming almost a historical footnote — PFF singled him out as the NFL’s “best non-first-round pick” since 2016.
Mailata, 6-foot-8 and 365 pounds, was a 7th-round pick (No. 233 overall) in the 2018 NFL Draft.
“The Eagles have a penchant for cultivating talent as well as any organization in football, and Mailata is the crown jewel of that,” Locker wrote. “The former rugby star has rounded into one of the NFL’s best all-around tackles despite being among the last picks in the 2018 NFL Draft. Mailata’s career 94.1 overall PFF grade is the third-best among tackles to play at least 4,500 snaps in the last eight seasons … Most players selected this late in the draft are viewed as either depth or a flier. In Mailata’s case, he became not just a starter, but an ultimate success story and a cornerstone for the Eagles’ Super Bowl title.”
Mailata’s 2025 Pro Bowl Snub Defied Logic
Mailata, a 2024 NFL All-Pro, found himself on the outside for the Pro Bowl in 2025.
Mailata, 6-foot-8 and 365 pounds, had the best season of his career in 2024 when he graded out as the No. 1 offensive tackle in the NFL with a 95.8, according to PFF, and followed that up with a Top 10 finish in 2025 at an 83.4 overall grade.
One person who was not happy about Mailata’s snub and expressed as much profanely and succinctly was Eagles fan and Barstool Sports producer Max Dolente on the “Pardon My Take” podcast on January 3.
“Jordan Mailata not being a Pro Bowler is (expletive),” Dolente said. “Number one ranked player in all of offense in the NFL this year, according to PFF. Number one ranked offensive player.”
While Mailata didn’t make the Pro Bowl, 6 of his teammates did: running back Saquon Barkley, center Cam Jurgens, guard Landon Dickerson, offensive tackle Lane Johnson, interior defensive lineman Jalen Carter and inside linebacker Zack Baun.
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