PHILADELPHIA − No one mentions anymore how Jalyx Hunt had only been an edge rusher for two years at Houston Christian, far removed from the limelight of the power college football conferences.
Before that, Hunt was a safety at Cornell, another college football outpost. Now, Hunt is integral to the Eagles as an edge rusher, along with Nolan Smith.
They are the main players whom the Eagles are counting on to replace Josh Sweat, who led the Eagles in sacks last season with eight and then left in free agency, and Brandon Graham, who retired after 15 seasons in which he tallied 76 sacks, third most in Eagles’ history.
Sure, the Eagles signed veterans Azeez Ojulari and Josh Uche to one-year deals, and drafted Antwaun Powell-Ryland in the sixth round.
But those players are mostly for depth in the edge rusher rotation. Smith, in his third season, and Hunt, in his second, are the longest-tenured edge rushers on the Eagles.
Hunt’s path to potential stardom was not as ordained as Smith’s, whom the Eagles picked in the first round (No. 30 overall) in 2023 out of a football powerhouse at Georgia.
That’s why Hunt is No. 8 on our list of 12 most intriguing Eagles heading into the start of training camp on July 22. We’re counting them down each weekday from No. 12 to No. 1. The series began July 7 and will culminate with the start of camp.
Don’t take the Eagles’ coaches’ word for it, though. Listen to right tackle Lane Johnson, who has gone against Hunt often in practice.
“I think Jalyx, this is gonna be a big year for him,” Johnson said. “He has all the tools. He’s gained some weight, so I think it’s gonna be a breakout year for him. Then Nolan, he’s still Nolan. He’s still setting the tone, so maybe he can carry a piece of what (Graham) did here for all these years. They’re very similar.”
That similarity is no surprise.
Graham took Smith under his proverbial wing through Smith’s first two seasons, mainly because both were first-round picks who had disappointing starts to their career.
“He was doubted when he first got here and so was I,” Smith said about Graham. “He just kept pushing me, and he leaned into me. As we say in the South, he just poured in my glass just a little bit more. He believed in me, and I tell him, I’m not going to stop.”
Smith had 6½ sacks last season after getting just one as a rookie. Smith then added four sacks in four playoff games.
As for Hunt, he always scoffed at the notion that last season was supposed to be a pseudo-redshirt year.
Still, Hunt’s rookie season certainly started off that way. In addition to Smith, Graham and Sweat, Hunt was also behind the Eagles’ big-ticket free agent signee Bryce Huff. Hunt was kept off the game-day roster for Week 1 and didn’t play more than 16% of the snaps in any of the first nine games.
Then Hunt played 42% on Nov. 10, when Huff was sort of benched while dealing with a wrist injury. Soon after, Huff went on injured reserve and missed five games. One game later, Graham went on IR with a torn triceps.
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That left the Eagles with a three-man rotation at edge rusher − Sweat, Smith and Hunt.
Hunt never played less than 38% in a game after Nov. 14. Hunt had 1½ sacks in the regular season and another 1½ in the playoffs. Huff was traded in May to the 49ers, further cementing Hunt’s status.
“Last year, it was all coming at you fast,” Hunt said. “I feel as if I understand the game a lot more. … I can play with a personality out there instead of being so cookie-cutter. I’m excited about that.”
So are the Eagles.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Read his coverage of the Eagles’ championship season in “Flying High,” a new hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at Fly.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Jalyx Hunt: Can Philadelphia Eagles defensive end replace Brandon Graham?