NFL teams impressed by athleticism of giant 6'8, 157kg rugby league player

If there’s one thing that is bound to spark interest from NFL scouts, it’s size; and former South Syndey Rabbitohs forward Jordan Mailata has plenty.

The 6’8, 157kg forward had been attendance at a Pro Day in Florida and the youngster’s enormous size has piqued the interest of a number of teams, including the Cincinnati Bengals.

While he faces an uphill battle to come to terms with incredible technical nature of the game, the fact that he is listed as ‘international player’ stands to the giant youngster’s favour.

Each team is allowed an extra international spot on top of their 10 man practice squad as the NFL seeks to find playing talent from outside the US, largely in order to market the game outside of the United States, a task that has so far largely eluded the sport.

According to NFL.com “Mailata measured just shy of 6-foot-8 and weighed 346 pounds. His arms measured a massive 35.5 inches. He was timed at 5.12 seconds in the 40-yard dash, which would have been good for seventh among tackle participants at the NFL Combine in February. He also excelled in the short shuttle with a time (4.67 seconds) that would have been among the top 10 at his position. Mailata put up 22 reps on the bench press.

“I felt today went well,” Mailata was quoted as saying on NFL.com. “This was my first chance to go through the positional drills in front of teams and I hope they got a chance to see the progress I have made as I try to master the position.”

https://youtu.be/MJIHBeVNqyQ?t=115

He impressed at the Rabbitohs as an U20s prospect, but has now set his eyes on a big money career with the NFL.

“Playing with him in the under 20s, you just had to give him the ball 10 metres out and no one could stop him from that close to the line,” Rabbitohs halfback Adam Doueihi told NRL.com. “Last year he was unstoppable, and he actually hurt a few kids because he was such a big kid.”

Although Mailata came into the Rabbitohs environment weighing over a 160kg, they successfully got him down to a rugby league fit 145kg bodyweight. However, with the low cardio demands of the NFL, he has balooned back up to 157kg, or just shy of 25 stone.

@TroyVincent23 @NFLFilms @OsiUmenyiora Invitational players in effect. Moritz Bohringer, Christopher Ezeala, Jordan Mailata, Santigie Sankoh & Christian Scotland-williamson – get it fellas! pic.twitter.com/JiymzTLnHz

— Locker-Report (@Locker_Report) March 24, 2018

As the above Tweet shows, he’s been working out alongside former Worcester Warrior secondrow Christian Scotland-Williamson.

Scotland-Williamson left Warriors at the end of December and headed out to Florida to work with NFL coaches and like Mailata, hopes to earn a place on an NFL team roster for the 2018 season.