For nearly a decade, the Pittsburgh Steelers had quite the impressive story of finding a moldable piece of clay, developing him and turning him into one of the top left tackles in the NFL, that being former offensive lineman Alejandro Villanueva.
Turns out, the Steelers were attempting to do the same thing ahead of the 2018 season with former Australian rugby player Jordan Mailata.
Mailata, now a star left tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles, came to the United States aiming to get into the NFL through the International Player Pathway program. At 6-7, 385 pounds, Mailata had impressive size, strength and athleticism for the offensive line and was a coveted piece on the international market.
Though he ended up with the Eagles via the 2018 NFL Draft as a seventh-round selection, Mailata was nearly a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
During a recent appearance on the “New Heights Podcast” with brothers Jason and Travis Kelce, Mailata revealed that he “almost went to Pittsburgh” as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway program, which allows a team to carry an international player on the practice squad as an additional member for an entire season to try and develop him, though he cannot be promoted to the 53-man roster during the season.
Ahead of the 2018 season, the Steelers — as part of the AFC North — were involved in the IPP, meaning they would get the roster exemption to keep a player on the practice squad without him counting against the practice squad limits. According to Mailata, he was going to be that guy.
Instead, the Eagles snatched him up in the draft at No. 233 overall in the seventh round, putting him in an offensive line room featuring standout veterans Jason Peters, Lane Johnson, Jason Kelce, and more under high-end offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland.
“I almost went to Pittsburgh,” Mailata stated on the New Heights podcast. “I found that out, probably like two years ago. It would have been through the Pathways.”
Having had success with the development of Villanueva, turning him from a defensive lineman who was a receiver in college for Army into a left tackle, the Steelers were looking to do something similar with Mailata.
Though they didn’t get a chance to land him in the Pathway Program, their scouting was rather sound on the Australian native. Since entering the NFL, Mailata has been quite the developmental story. He’s played 3,311 snaps for the Eagles, seeing the field starting in 2020, taking over as starter that season and never looking back.
In those 3,311 snaps, Mailata has allowed just 85 pressures and 19 sacks, cleaning things up in a major way this season. He has allowed just three sacks on the season while being one of the highest-graded left tackles in football, coming in at No. 2 behind Minnesota’s Christian Darrisaw in Pro Football Focus’ grades at tackle.
Since becoming a starter in 2020, Mailata has been an integral part of the Eagles’ success offensively, helping lead Philadelphia to an appearance in the Super Bowl last season. He signed a four-year, $64 million extension in September 2021, which was life-changing money for the former rugby player who had never played a single snap of football or even knew of the sport before coming to the United States and getting onto the IPP path.
For the Steelers, it’s what could have been.
Once Villanueva started to decline around 2020 before eventually leaving for the Baltimore Ravens in free agency, the Steelers didn’t exactly have a plan at the position, eventually slotting in fourth-round pick Dan Moore Jr. at the position and letting him go through growing pains. Though he’s played better in recent weeks, Moore remains one of the league’s worst left tackles in football, per PFF’s metrics.
They could have lucked into a star like Mailata if the Eagles didn’t draft him, taking away any chance of losing Mailata to the in-state Steelers.
Unable to land Mailata, the Steelers shifted their attention to tight end Christian Scotland-Williamson in the IPP for the 2018 season. Though he stuck around through 2020, Scotland-Williamson did not develop into anything for the Steelers, never appearing in a game.
