Jordan Mailata knew only one way and for the duration of his career as the Philadelphia Eagles' left tackle he repeated the practice steps taught to him every day, watched film with the same intent, and went on the field and excelled.
But now the Eagles have a new offensive line coach in Chris Kuper and, with that, a new way of doing things.
"Chris is awesome. Chris has been a great addition to the team so far, bringing on new techniques. I think he's very familiar with this new (offensive) scheme we have, so his experience and knowledge within the scheme is really translating from the classroom to the field," Mailata said. "We're learning a bunch of stuff.
"I feel like a rookie again. It's great. It's a humbling experience and you should always be of that learning mindset. You should never think that you know everything. It's been fun. It's been great."
The offensive line is a huge, extremely important focal point for this 2026 Eagles offense and that's not different from any seasons past. What is different is that Kuper – a former Pro Bowl offensive guard in Denver who then went into coaching and who was most recently the Vikings' offensive line coach from 2022-2025 – is in town and he's bringing to the trenches what he knows, and what he knows works best in the Eagles new scheme.
The entire offensive line, Mailata included, is out of the comfort zone where it annually played as a top, top, top unit in the entire NFL. That is a good thing, Mailata says. The challenge is real.
"Very new learning experience, learning these new concepts and standards," Mailata said. "It's just something that, the more time we put in, the more we're going to get out of it. It's very educational so far. We're taking it day by day, so we'll see."
Injuries up front impacted the offense in the 2025 season, no doubt about it. Having right tackle Lane Johnson, right guard Tyler Steen, center Cam Jurgens, left guard Landon Dickerson and Mailata on the field through the spring has been a positive, and the Eagles addressed the group in the offseason by re-signing swing tackle Fred Johnson in free agency and adding offensive tackle Markell Bell (Round 3) and guard Micah Morris (Round 6) in the NFL Draft. That influx of youth, along with the three draft additions from the 2025 NFL Draft (OG/C Drew Kendall, OT Myles Hinton, OT Cameron Williams), provide the picture of an offensive line with a high level of talent to start and some promising youth to develop.
Step by step through the spring, the Eagles are making the right kind of progress.
"It's all new and we're enjoying it," Mailata said. "We're locked in and learning every day. That is the nature of this business, so for me it is like starting all over again. I think things are coming together very well, but we also know we have a long way to go."
