Jalyx Hunt isn't a name many recognized heading into the NFL Draft. Hunt didn't play at a FBS school nor was he on television much for outsiders to gather information on. The newest pass rusher on the Philadelphia Eagles hasn't even played the position two years!
A former safety at Cornell, Hunt went to Houston Christian and learned a new position as an outside linebacker and edge rusher. A unique athlete that's still developing at his new position, the Eagles just couldn't pass on Hunt.
"He's got freaky tools in his body," Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said Friday night. "He's an explosive guy. If you watch his best plays, he's doing things that are unique. He can bend. He can close. He can finish. He's long. He's an extremely smart kid obviously coming from Cornell."
The Eagles don't have to play Hunt right away, stashing him in a pass rushing group that includes Bryce Huff, Josh Sweat, Nolan Smith, and Zack Baun. They can spend the 2024 season developing Hunt into an explosive rusher off the edge.
A favorite of defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, the Eagles took the gamble of stockpiling more picks twice before finally drafting Hunt at No. 94 overall. The explosiveness off the line and body type was worth the lottery ticket.
"This is a perfect developmental guy for us because of the tools in his body and his character and work ethic, and we think we can really find something with him," Roseman said. "That's on us. That's on how he's going to work.
"You know, you can say, well, that's the third round and you're a good team, why are you doing that? Because these guys are hard to find. We believe in edge rushers and we just felt like there was a tremendous buy-in from our staff about this player. Obviously from the coaching staff, from the front office we thought this guy had tremendous tools."
The Eagles saw first hand Hunt can be well coached and is scratching the surface of his potential. The school nor competition matters to them, nor if many fans outside the organization heard of him.
The Eagles did, and got their version of the golden ticket.
"When you get guys like that it's exciting to see what they can become," Roseman said. "Again, we feel like we like our edge
