Eagles’ Jordan Mailata gives perfect speech after Saquon Barkley’s ESPYs win

When news broke that Saquon Barkley’s famous reverse hurdle was up for an ESPY, fans of the Philadelphia Eagles made it their mission to make sure the 2,000-yard rusher got a little extra hardware to celebrate his record-breaking season.

Facing off against stiff competition, the play immortalized forever on the cover of Madden 26 ultimately beat the odds and secured the win, with Jordan Mailata rising to his feet to accept the honor.

Taking the stage during the star-studded broadcast, Mailata admitted that, yeah, he isn’t Barkley, but after spending a year in the trenches with the Penn State product, he felt comfortable saying a few words in his stead while accepting the award.

“Yeah, I know I’m not Saquon Barkley, but, you know, there were a lot of incredible nominees this year, so let’s give them a round of applause for that. On behalf of Saquon, just knowing how he is,” Mailata began.

“But if Saquon was here, he would say this is a team award, he would say that it was because of the team that he could jump 40 inches virtical backwards over a player. He would say no man is an island and he draws his strength from us, so in saying that, thank you for the ESPY, thank you to the fans who voted for him, and go Birds.”

A little humor? Check. Thanking the other nominees? Check. Goodness, outside of showing off his Masked Singer-caliber voice, Mailata pretty much checked every box fans could hope for in an ESPYs speech.

Would it have been cool to see Barkley bask in the glory of his signature play a little bit longer, really milking the 2024 season for all it’s worth before he fully goes all-in on 2025? Sure, but with six months of PhillyMania since the Super Bowl having run wild in the City of Brotherly Love, it makes sense that Barkley is instead focusing on the future, when the Eagles will have to do it all again this fall.