How Jalyx Hunt is continuing to develop from expanded role

It took just a few weeks of facing Jalyx Hunt on scout team earlier this season for All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson to come to a realization.

“I’m like, ‘this guy needs to be playing,’” Johnson said.

And now he is.

When the Eagles drafted Hunt in the third round this April, he was billed as an athletic but raw prospect. A guy who might contribute sparingly but would need a lot of time to develop before playing a major role. After all, he was drafted out of Houston Christian just a few years after playing safety at Cornell.

But there’s no more waiting.

While the 23-year-old needs to continue his development, he has settled into a role as a major contributor for the top defense in the NFL.

After injuries to Bryce Huff and Brandon Graham, Hunt has become a key part of the Eagles’ edge rusher rotation. In Sunday’s win over the Ravens, he played a career-high 35 snaps as a part of a three-man rotation with Josh Sweat and Nolan Smith.

“I’m always excited to play football,” Hunt said with a smile when asked about his expanded role. “I’m always excited to play football. It was just another opportunity.”

Entering Week 10, Hunt had played a total of 17 defensive snaps. But in the four weeks since, he has played 84 and that’s while battling through an ankle injury. Eventually, Huff is expected to return and the Eagles did add Chuck Harris but Hunt is firmly in the rotation now.

It took a lot of work to get Hunt to this point and that work isn’t over. During each practice, he tries to hone in on every single detail but even that’s not enough. Hunt spends time before and after practices working on the smaller details of his craft — like the tops of his rushes and get-offs.

Hunt said sometimes he’ll pick the things he needs to work on and sometimes the suggestions will come from edge rusher coach Jeremiah Washburn.

“It’s a little bit of both,” Hunt said. “It’s open communication throughout the week. He’s like, ‘Hey, what did you see this past game?’ and then he’ll tell you what he sees.”

And it’s not like Washburn is the only voice in Hunt’s ear. The rookie also praised the player development staff, specifically Matt Leo and Connor Barwin, who have both been integral in creating his long-term development plan.

On a day-to-day basis, Hunt gets plenty of help from players on both sides of the ball.

“Honestly, this is a team effort,” Hunt said. “I think everybody on the team is so focused on getting better. We know the outcome we want to have but we know the standard with which we play. We know if we play at that standard, we win. Just making sure everything is up to that standard for everybody. If anybody sees anything, they say it. 

“If I’m rushing against Lane (Johnson) or Jordan (Mailata) and I hit something, they’re like, ‘You’re get-off is good but this is what you need to do next time. This will work. Try this at the top of the route.’ Or Sweaty (Josh Sweat) will watch the rush, ‘Your get-off was good but your jab wasn’t good enough. The top of your rush wasn’t good enough.’ It all helps.”

Johnson is in Year 12 in the NFL and has faced plenty of good edge rushers in his career. He knows what can make those rushers successful and he’s always happy to dole out tips.

But he’s happy to get them too.

“Yeah, I tell him what works, what I find difficult, pass rushes I see,” Johnson said. “Whenever I see him having success out there, it feels like we’re all a part of it … Anything he sees from me, he tells me. Anything I see from him, I’ll tell him. It may not be fun during the week but it does pay off on game day.”

Hunt this season, in just 101 defensive snaps, already had 1 1/2 sacks, 3 QB hits, 2 forced fumbles, 5 combined tackles and 1 pass breakup.

Among edge rushers in the NFL who have played under 15% of their team’s defensive snaps this season, Hunt ranks second with 3 quarterback hits. The only guy ahead of him is Buffalo’s Javon Solomon with 4.

“I think when he came in he was raw, obviously,” Johnson said. “I think over the course of the season he’s gotten a lot stronger, he’s gotten bigger. Just the movement is starting to match up with the power and he has a plan of attack as a pass rusher. He’s gotten a lot better with his hands. … He’s only going to continue to get better and better. 

“When you have a guy with movement skills like that and they start figuring stuff out, a guy that was playing safety not too long ago, to be able to do that at D-end, it’s why they drafted him. He’s a special athlete. He’s only going to continue to get better.”

After playing his college football at smaller programs, Hunt has been adjusting to life in the NFL and is getting his routine down as he learns what his body needs to reach its peak.

There’s no question, though, that Hunt appears to be ahead of schedule, even though he didn’t set any major goals for his rookie season.

“All of my goals were development and small things, week-by-week goals,” he said.

So far, he seems to be hitting them.

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