Philadelphia Eagles placekicker Jake Elliott made headlines in the picklesphere last summer with a behind-the-back shot that went viral on social media.

The highlight-reel effort came at the second annual Make The World Better (MTWB) Pickleball Tournament in Sea Isle, NJ, which was held to raise funds for the revitalization of public spaces in the City of Brotherly Love.

Elliott, 30, played men’s doubles alongside his former Eagles teammate Beau Allen in the event, and the pair ultimately reached the top of the podium together in the Advanced Division.

Nine months later, Elliott still can’t believe that his shot garnered so much attention online.

"I didn’t think it was a huge setting. It was a tournament we were just messing around at, and I was shocked at the response the video got. It definitely blew up," said the two-time Super Bowl champion, who celebrated his most recent Lombardi Trophy triumph in February. "That’s just the natural tennis instincts coming back, so watching how that has translated for me has been a lot of fun."

Elliott was an exceptionally talented tennis player at Lyons Township High School in La Grange, IL before joining the football team for his junior season, so he can definitely handle himself on the court - even if tennis and pickleball aren’t exactly the same thing.

While he doesn’t pick up a paddle on a regular basis, especially during the NFL campaign, he clearly appreciates everything that pickleball has to offer.

"One of my old high school teammates lives in Arizona. A couple of years ago, he invited me out to play pickleball a few times with a group, and I kind of just fell in love with it. It's a great offseason hobby, and it kind of scratches that tennis itch, too," mentioned Elliott. "I was hooked by the flow and the rhythm of the game. It's so fast-paced and you can make a lot of creative shots. I've only played doubles pickleball, so I enjoyed the camaraderie aspect."

Between the demands of football and fatherhood - Elliott and his wife, Annie, welcomed their first child, Beau, in July 2023 - pickleball is rightfully on the back burner for now, but that probably won't be the case forever.

The University of Memphis product has the raw skills to compete on the 20x44, and he's interested in learning more about the intricacies of the game as well.

"My hands could translate well from tennis to pickleball. I've always had good hands, and you need good hands at the net. You've also got to have quick reaction time, and I think that could translate to the pickleball court, too," explained Elliott. "I've also watched a bunch of clips, and sometimes I'll find myself like in a rabbit hole just watching pickleball highlights. I haven't gotten into all the tournament stuff yet, but I will. I know I will. I've got a 19-month old at home, so he's keeping me away from all the extra stuff."

When that time finally comes, there's a good chance he'll gravitate towards a player like Chrisitan Alshon, who's affectionately known as the "Tweener King" on tour.

In a Tennis Channel interview from 2018, Elliott indicated that a "tweener" was among his "favorite shots."

"I haven't had the opportunity to try it on the pickleball court yet," he said with a laugh. "I'm always going for an ATP. I'll go out of my way to try and make one of those work."

It's easy to see that Elliott has the pickleball bug.

And he confirmed that punter Braden Mann, who also serves as the holder on the Eagles' field goal unit, has developed an interest in America's fastest-growing sport, too.

"We have a little makeshift pickleball court in our parking lot at the practice facility, so we've played a couple of games out there when we have downtime during training camp and we're looking to burn a couple of hours," shared Elliott. "Braden's just a natural athlete, so he picked it up really quickly. He's fun to hit around with."

Elliott obviously has many more years of kicking ahead of him in the NFL, but he isn't ruling out an attempt at professional pickleball at some point in the future.

Based off that viral clip alone, we already know that he'd be a treat to watch.

"It would be fun to make a push at anything in another competitive setting, whether it would be golf or pickleball, so we'll see. I'm sure that when I'm done with football, I'm going to have the itch for something. Pickleball could be fun," concluded Elliott. "It's something that brings in the agility part of football and it brings those competitive juices back."

An eight-year NFL veteran, Elliott is signed with Philadelphia through the 2028 season.